


The Player and The Freckled Girl

by soccerlover35



Category: USWNT - Fandom
Genre: Abuse, F/F, F/M, Family, Foster Care, High School, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Murder Mystery, Mystery, References to Drugs, Sisters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:00:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 47
Words: 106,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29803968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soccerlover35/pseuds/soccerlover35
Summary: When it's your third school of the year you start to get fed up of going through the same drill every time; new people trying to be your friend, the usual bitch of the school trying to prove she's the boss and guys and girls drooling all over you.But while Dan has had enough of everyone else, she's got her own problems that no one else knows about and could this town finally tell her the secrets that have been hidden from her for so long?
Relationships: Ashlyn Harris/Ali Krieger, Kelley O’Hara/OC, Servando Carrasco/Alex Morgan, Tobin Heath/Christen Press, Zach Ertz/Julie Johnston
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is solely for my own purpose of being able to download this story as an EPub file, if you somehow come across it enjoy I guess!

"Get out of my house before I throw you out myself!" My stepmom yells at me as I grab my phone and slam the front door behind me.

"You're in for it when you get home missy!" She shouts, storming out the door and trying to come after me.

I just hop onto my motorcycle and flash her the middle finger before riding off to school not wanting to listen to her shit for any longer. 

This is my first day at a new school and I can't handle Brittney right now. It's my third school this year and my patience for it all is wearing very thin. I don't know the reason we move as much as we do but it has to do with Micks job so I don't question it 

Brittany is my foster mom, and her drug dealer boyfriend is Mick. I've lived with the pair since I was 14 and it's been hell since day one, Mick likes to beat me up a lot of the time and Brittney doesn't do anything to stop it. As soon as I turn 18 next year, I'm leaving 

According to Mick, this is a very posh school that most students have to pay tuition for unless they're on a scholarship, how he got me in or why I don't know but anything will be better than my last one, there was at least one knife fight every week.

I pull up to the school entrance and park my bike in a free spot watching as all the students stare at me probably asking all their friends who the mystery person is. 

I take off my helmet and shake my head, letting my hair fall loosely to my shoulders while straightening out the collar to my leather jacket and tightening the flannel that's wrapped around my waist. 

I make the famous first-day movie walk up the school steps and into the hell that's known as school. Apparently, they aren't used to many newcomers as most of the heads turn to look at me in surprise. 

I do however spot a girl looking at me a little star struck so I walk over in her direction and flash my signature smile, leaning against the lockers before facing her. 

"Hey, you couldn't tell me where the main office is now could you?" I ask, placing my hand in my back pocket 

"i-its d-down the hall on the l-left" She manages to stutter out quickly avoiding eye contact.

"Thanks," I say winking at her before wandering down the hall, my helmet in hand and keys spinning around my finger.

I always find it funny how some girls, and guys, always get so flustered around me like yeah maybe I do look hot and ride a motorcycle but I'm still just me. Once I find the main office I head to the old lady on reception.

"Hello ma'am I'm here to pick up my timetable?" I ask as nicely as possible, just because I act a certain way for other people doesn't mean I don't respect people who deserve it. 

"ah, you must be Donatella Parker," She says giving me a sweet smile 

"I just go by Dan but yes that is me," I say hating my full name with a passion. I love my mom but she really wanted to give me a hard life when she chose that name 

"Well, Dan, here's your timetable for the day sweetie. Do you need any help getting to your first class?" The nice woman asks

"I think I'll be fine thank you though ma'am," I say taking my timetable of her. 

"Okay sweetie, this is your locker number and code, it's just down the hallway and in your right." She says passing me another piece of paper

"well that's everything from me, you just need to go speak with headmaster Davis before your first lesson," she tells me and point towards his office door. 

"I appreciate all your help ma'am, have a nice day," I say and knock on his door 

I hear a faint come in so I open the door and see a man look up at me from his chair.

"Donatella right? Come have a seat" He says standing up and ushering me inside 

"it's just Dan Sir," I say as politely as possible.

"I'll remember for next time Dan, now let's have a look at what you've chosen to take her." He says obviously looking at my files on his computer 

"The only ones I have concerns over are Portuguese and Algebra 2, you didn't take them at your last school so I don't have any records of your academics." Mr Davis says to me

"that's because they didn't offer it there sir, I'm practically fluent in Portuguese and I can definitely keep up in that Algebra class" I say wanting to take some easy subjects 

"well I'll get your teachers to give you a test and depending on the result we'll see if you need to be moved or not, sound good?" he asks me

"Perfect, thank you, sir," I say happily 

"Great, just one more thing Dan, you do have a record of getting into a few fights. Usually we wouldn't accept people with your record to our school, were very respected across the state but people higher up than me have spoken highly of you. I'm all for giving people seconds chances but there's only so many I can give here so you've got three strikes and then you're out, clear" He says suddenly turning very stern 

"Crystal" I reply through gritted teeth hating the fact I'm always judged on what people don't even know the full story about.

"Okie dokie, head off to class now and I'll speak to your teachers later today," He says opening up his office door to me. 

"Will do sir," I say grabbing my helmet and walking out 

"Oh, one more thing," He shouts down the corridor making me spin around. 

"go see coach at lunch," He says, I just salute at him and walk off to find my locker. 

I don't know who would be speaking highly of me that works high up in a school like this but I not questioning it, this place looks decent.

According to my map, my locker is not too far from my next lesson so I use my combination code and chuck in my helmet before finding my Algebra 2 class. 

I knock on the door before being waved in so I walk over to the teacher who looks way too happy to be teaching maths. 

"You must be-" She starts to say but I cut her off not wanting everyone here to know my full name

"Dan," I say giving her a smile so she doesn't think I'm being too rude. 

"This is your new classmate Dan, make her feel welcome please," The teacher says getting no response from the rest of the class, what a surprise.

"Mr Davis told me to give you this, don't bother paying attention today, we'll be doing some worksheets on a new topic, just complete this test and hand it to me at the end of class," She says, I just nod my head and see a couple of empty seat at the back of the class. 

I watch as all the heads follow me, watching where I'm going to choose to sit for the rest of the year.

I weigh my option out in my head quickly. Free seat number 1 is next to a boy, good looking, have nice cheekbones and jawline but that smirk on his face tells me that all he's going to try and do is hit on me and I can't deal with boys thinking they have any chance of getting into my pants 

Option number two, a very hyperactive looking girl who seems like she talks your ear off, if I want to sleep there's no way I'm sitting next to her 

And lastly, option number 3, a shy looking girl but seems to have some personality about her by the way she dresses, got a cute looking face and a lot of freckles, seems friendly enough so I think she's my best bet. 

I pull out the chair next to her and see her shuffle over to give me space to sit down, I put my paper down on my desk and realise I forgot to bring my bag after all that drama at home this morning.

"Hey freckles, do you have a spare pen," I ask the girl next to me.

"erm oh yeah I do, here you go" She says rooting through her pencil case quickly and handing me one over like her life depends on it. 

"Chill freckles, I'm just another person" I say laughing slightly at how flustered she seems 

"right sorry, I'm just not too good with new people," She says shyly biting at her bottom lip.

I know she didn't mean it sexually, but that is really doing something to me.

"That's fair enough but I'm pretty sure I should be scared since I'm the new kid" I reply trying to make conversation with this girl

"Yeah but look at you, you're hot, you ride a motorcycle and wear a leather jacket, you practically oose confidence," She says making me smirk 

"so you think I'm hot huh" I answer with a smirk. Freckles suddenly becomes very red and looks anywhere but my face.

"I'm messing with you, but just because I may look confident doesn't mean I really am inside," I say giving her a small wink before starting my test. 

The test isn't very hard and I find myself getting incredibly bored in the middle of it so I just start doodling on the back of the paper when I see freckles looking a little confused at her work. 

I decide to tune in to what the teacher is talking about. I look at her workings and spot where she's going wrong.

"you have to carry the 2 and then subtract the 17 before you can square root it," I say pointing to her workings out

"how do you know that you've been doing a test the whole lesson," She says looking at me confused.

"magic" I reply and smile to myself before getting back to my work.

Class doesn't last too much longer and I head to the front with the rest of the students to hand in my test. 

"Here ya go miss," I say 

"Thank you Dan, how did you find it?" She asks while shuffling around with some papers on her desk.

"Easy, you made a mistake on the last question, I changed it for you," I say before walking out.

"yo, freckles. Wait up!" I shout to my maths partner.

"your pen" I say in a posh voice and hold it out to her with two hands 

"it's alright, you keep it for the day I think you need it more than me," She says giving me a small smile.

"why that is very kind of you freckles," I say back.

"why do you call me freckles?" The girl asks suddenly

"its the first thing I noticed when I looked at you, your freckles," I say honestly. She's silent for a while looking like she's contemplating something in her head.

"my names Kelley" She says suddenly turning to glance at me quickly 

"well, Kelley, could you possibly show me to my next class" I ask

The rest of the morning passes by relatively quick, I didn't have any more classes with Kelley other than second but I did get talking to a girl named Ash who was pretty cool. 

It's currently lunch so I'm heading to the coaches office as Mr Davis asked. I walk up to his door and knock a few time before letting myself in.

"you must me Donatella Parker, I'm your coach," The guy says sticking out his and for me to shake 

"it's just Dan coach," I say. I really need to get my named change when I then 18

"Sorry about that Dan, your form says that you play soccer. And football, is that correct" He says looking up at me confused 

"Yes coach I do play football, I know it might be hard to believe. I helped my last school get to their regional finals for the first time in 30 years " I say finding myself becoming fed up of everyone saying the same thing 

"it wasn't giving you a bad look just a surprised one because I'm in need of a quarterback actually" He says to me

"well I guess it's your lucky day then" I say smirking 

"Great! I'll see you at training after school tomorrow and you can show me what that arm does" He tells me 

"Perfect, and what about soccer, do you have a women team?" I ask 

"We do, they are very good actually, we've won almost all major trophies except nationals," He says making me raise my eyebrows in surprise 

"When do they have tryouts?" I say wanting to get involved in this

"Unfortunately for you it was at the beginning of the year a couple of weeks back but from your record, I think I can let you try out," Coach says to me 

"Thanks coach, I'll see you tomorrow night then," I say smiling at home.

"Don't be late Parker!" He shouts as I leave his office and to the cafeteria for some much-needed food.


	2. That's not just a nobody and you just destroyed her

I walk in and all heads turn to look at me but I just ignore them and go to buy some fries from the lunch ladies before spotting Kelley sitting on a table in the far corner.

It seems like everyone is waiting to see where I chose to seat like this will make or break me but I honestly couldn't care less, I know full well where the popular table is and there's no chance I'm sitting with them.

"Hey freckles, this seat free?" I ask coming up behind Kelley

"n-no it's all yours," She says stuttering a little at the beginning.

"what's up Dan" I hear Ash says from a little down the table making me smile and grab her hand

"yo Ash, didn't know you knew freckles here" I say pointing a blushing Kelley next to me. Ash and I have business class together and we I instantly clicked, probably because we both cause trouble

"Yeah, well this is the soccer table your sitting at anyways," She says making me look around and see a much of other girls

"Sick, coach is letting me try out later this week," I say

"No way! You never said you played soccer" Ash asks surprised

"Yeah I have since I was like 5," I tell her happily.

"That's awesome! Let me introduce you to everyone." She says

"You've got the Freshmen here, Mal, Rose and Tierna, these guys are our little babies" Ash says making the three youngsters groan.

"Then you've got the Sophomores, Emily, Lindsey, Abby, Morgan, Sam and Julie. This lot still act like Freshman except Julie you would think she's a senior" Ash explains making the one who I presume is Julie smirk.

"Juniors are, Alex, Kelley, Tobin, Allie, Christen and I guess you too. Some are more mature than others" Ash says glaring at Kelley next to me

"and lastly there's us seniors, me, Ali, Carli, Hope and Becky" She finishes explaining

"well it's nice to meet you all I'm Dan," I say to the table.

"oh God here comes Satan herself," I think Ali mumble staring at someone behind me.

I turn around to see a girl strutting my way, high heels clicking against the wooden floor of the cafeteria and dressed head to toe in cheerleader uniform.

"Hi! You must be the new girl Dan, I'm Jaelene" She says in a ridiculously high pitched voice

"Hi?" I ask wondering why she's over here, to begin with.

"you should come to sit with us not these sleaze bags," She says turning her nose up at everyone in this table

"Yeah I'll pass on that one thanks," I say turning back around

"Excuse me, I'm Jaelene Hinkle, you don't just turn away from me bitch," She says and I can practically feel the smoke steaming off her body behind me

"Sorry to burst your bubble love, but I just did" I reply sticking a fry in my mouth.

"You'll regret not being my friend Dan and why'd you want to sit next to this orphan I don't know" She says hitting Kelley on the back of the head.

I turn and see Kelley try hard to not let any tears spill and that's what really gets me mad.

"Excuse me" I say not believing what this bitch has just said

"you heard me, she's just an orphan who doesn't have any parents because they knew you were trash when you were born, that's why they dumped your ass at an orphanage," She says smirking to herself and talking directly at Kelley.

I've had enough of listening to this shit and there's no way she getting off with speaking to Kelley like that.

I stand up from my seat, the chair scraping on the floor making all the heads in the cafeteria turn to look at me.

"Listen here you bitch, you might think you own the school because you're rich with your Louis Vuitton high heels and Gucci handbag but your nothing but a bully. No one in this school actually likes you and I'm sure as hell that you have zero friends while Kelley over here has 20 friends that would do anything for her. So before you start spluttering out some garbage about other peoples life, maybe you should have a look at yours" I say standing an inch away from her and watching her face stiffen from every word.

"whatever" She scoffs and goes to turn away but I grab her wrist and whisper to her

"and if you ever as lay a finger on, or speak a single word to Kelley, or any of the other girls, you won't have anything to wear your fancy shoes on" I whisper smiling as I pull away and seeing her visibly gulp from fear

Damn right you should bitch, no one is speaking to my Kelley like that. No, not my Kelley just Kelley because she's not mine she's just Kelley. I give up.

"Shows over people!" I yell into the canteen and watch people start talking again.

I sit back in my seat next to Kelley and Christen I think, I need to put more names to faces, and start eating my fries again.

I look up and see everyone staring at me in both shock and confusion.

"Have I got something on my face?" I ask patting my skin wondering what they are all looking at.

"That. Was. Awesome!" Ash says out of everyone, smiling brightly at me

"what I said to Jaelene?" I ask

"Yeah! Literally, no one in this school has ever stood up to her and I don't think I've ever seen her as scared of someone as you before" Ash replies

"well she deserved it, she's was being a bitch, period" I say shrugging my shoulders.

"but that's Jaelene Hinkle, queen bee of Lakewood High School, daughter of millionaire Christopher Hinkle, head cheerleader. That's not just a nobody and you just destroyed her" Ali says from across of me

"She's head cheerleader!" I ask in annoyance

"Yep, that table she's sitting on is all the cheerleaders and football players," Allie says making me groan

"You're telling me I've got to listen to her annoying ass voice cheering me on?" I say

"wait I'm confused, why would she be cheering you on?" I think Emily says

"Oh yeah I forgot to mention that I'm most likely your school's new quarterback" I answer

Kelley starts choking on her drink next to me so I pat her back lightly trying to get her to stop coughing

"you alright freckles?" I ask concerned

"Y-you're the new quarterback," She says looking at me with wide eyes

"is that not what I just said?" I ask confused now.

"That's sick bro! You're going to be so popular its unreal" Ash says dabbing me up again

"I don't really care for all that," I say shrugging it off

"you literally strolled up to school on a motorbike wearing a leather jacket, you are the textbook definition of bad boy," I think Hope says smirking at me.

"Yeah maybe I am cool, doesn't mean I'm going to be the textbook definition of a popular bully," I say getting annoyed that people are judging me so quickly when they really know nothing about me.

"yeah just until you make the football team then you'll go to the cool kid's table," Ash says laughing

"I won't Ash cause you clearly don't know who I am if you're just going off on how I dress and act sometimes." I say standing up from my seat and storming out the canteen not wanting to be there any more.

I head out of the school gates and towards the back of the school trying to find somewhere quiet to sit and be alone for a second.

I grab the cigarettes and lighter out my jacket pocket and get one out, I only smoke when I'm stressed or angry, helps calm me down.

I lean my head against the wall and take a drag of the cigarette before blowing it back out into the air with my eyes closed just listening to the peacefulness around me.

It doesn't take too long for me to hear footsteps coming towards me, so I open my eyes and see Kelley wandering over.

"Hey," She says quietly taking a seat on the wall next to me.

"Hi" I reply just a quiet.

No one says a word for a while and I take one last drag of my cigarette before putting it out next to me

"didn't know you smoke," Kelley says

"I don't really, only when I'm stressed or angry" I reply

"I guess the comments at lunch made you a little angry" she says making me let out a sarcastic laugh

"You don't say" I reply

"They didn't mean it I promise, they only meant it as a joke, everyone can see that you're not like all the others from the way you stood up for us," Kelley says sympathetically to me.

"I know but it doesn't mean that I'm not affected by what people say," I tell her

"I know, and I had a word with Ash about it too," Kelley says making me firm to look at her with raised eyebrows

"I can be scary if need to as well," She says making me laugh

"sorry freckles, I don't believe that," I say trying to imagine it

"whatever, now come on before we're late to the next lesson," She says jumping onto the ground.

"are you my chauffeur now," I say smiling at her cheekily

"only for today, you're on your own tomorrow," She says smiling at me and jogging off

"Hey! That's not fair" I say trying to catch up with her.

Freckles, you're making my heart feel a certain way.

\- - - -

I park my bike down the side street to my road, not wanting Mick or Brittney to destroy it in their angry rampage, and brace myself for what I'm going to experience walking into that house after slamming the door this morning.

You know when you do something in the moment thinking it was a really good idea and there was definitely no better way to handle the situation, but then you look back on it later and realised it was pretty fucking stupid? Yeah, this morning was one of those situations.

I take my keys out of my pocket and open the door as quietly as possible trying to see if I can sneak in and at least take something to numb the pain before I'm beaten to a pulp by Mick and his fists

I close the door behind me and tiptoe through the hallway taking two steps forward one right, then two diagonally left then one right again, the sequence I've learned to memorize in order to miss the squeaky floorboards.

Even though I perfected it perfectly, it wasn't enough for Mick to not hear me coming in since I'm staring at a very angry man

"How dare you slam the door on your mother his morning little girl! You ungrateful bitch!" He shouts grabbing me by the neck and pinning me to the wall

"she's not my mother just like your not my father" I seethe out in anger, I really don't help myself

A fist soon connects with my ribs making me hunch over and start a coughing fit while trying to catch my breath. He goes to hit my face but I duck out the way in time

"Stop! Do you really want the school to notice this, it's only on my first day they are going to be watching me constantly" I say trying to save myself here

I watch him contemplate with himself but eventually just give me to the floor

"Only because I can't be bothered dealing with more paperwork," He says and storms of grabbing the bottle of whiskey on the side.

I slump down on my back for a second trying to catch my breath and count my lucky stars that it wasn't any worse especially since I've got football tryouts tomorrow.

I reluctantly peel myself off the comfy spot I made on the floor and trudge up to my room heading straight to the bathroom and to where keep my pills. I open some pain killers and quickly knock them back wanting them to start working asap.

My hand finds it's way to my side trying to do anything to stop the throbbing pain of my ribs and I walk to my bed, carefully laying down onto my back.

"Why does he have to be such a dick" I groan out as I try to find a comfortable position.

I end up just staying there and breathing through the pain until it subsides a little and the meds kick in. I carefully turn over to the mini-fridge next to my bed that conveniently holds a freezer in the top too and grab the ice pack out that I keep for this specific reason.

I slowly roll up my top and wince slightly as the cold hits my sides. I'm so glad that I am 17 and I don't have to live with him once I turn 18 because there's only so many times I can go through this again before I lose it on him.

There's little point me trying to do anything tonight so I go to bed hungry, bruised ribs, and a long day ahead of me tomorrow


	3. I said let her go Jaelene, this is your last warning

"Freckles," I say winking at Kelley as I walk past her in the hall trying to keep my back as straight as possible so no one gets suspicious of why I might suddenly be slouching over.

I turn the corner hoping to get to my locker quickly when I notice a big crowd forming further down the hall. I ignore it at first, not thinking much of it and carry on getting my books out, it's only when I hear people starting to chant I know a fight is about to break out.

My curiosity gets the better of me and I wander down wanting to have a quick peek at the action hoping it's going to be two jocks having a fight over some girl that neither of them will ever get.

"Just leave me alone Jaelene, you're seriously not worth my time" I hear a young girls voice say.

"What are you going to do about, go cry to you're big sister, she's too much of a pussy to stick up for herself too" I hear the annoying voice say back.

I push my way through the crowd to see Jaelene almost pinning this younger girl to the lockers, staring her down with a smirk on her face. I have to give it to the other girl because she doesn't look scared at all, just pissed off and rightly so.

"Back off Jaelene, just let the girl get to her class," I say stepping towards the school bully.

"Oh and if it isn't the new girl stepping in yet again," She says sarcastically turning to face me.

"Well you clearly didn't learn your lesson yesterday about bullying people," I say entering the circle that's seemed to have formed around the pair.

"I don't listen to low life's like you, I run this school, remember," she says trying to show her power. The young girl attempts to leave but Jealene grabs her shoulder and slams her back against the locker.

"I said let her go Jaelene, this is your last warning," I tell her getting incredibly more pissed off by the second.

"And what are you going to do," She says clicking her fingers and somehow summoning a few boys to her side.

"Actually fight someone unlike you or are you too scared you might break one of your nails," I say in a baby voice making a few people in the crowd 'ooh' at my comment.

"You're not even worth my time anyways" she scoffs and points to one of her boys. Thinking it's over I let my guard down not realising she's about to pick up a giant textbook and slam it into the girl's side.

"You bitch!" I seethe out at her and storm up pulling my hand back ready to send her flying across the corridor but one of her minions gets in the way and I end up punching him in the face instead.

He looks up at me in anger, his nose bleeding and a cut on his cheek, but we hear teachers coming around the corner so everyone scatters pretty quickly, not wanting to explain it to any adults.

"Hey, let's get you looked at," I say to the girl putting my arm under her shoulder and lifting her off the floor.

"I hate that girl with a burning passion" She grits out as we slowly walk to the girl's bathroom.

"Tell me about it and I've only been here for two days" I reply getting a small laugh out of the girl that quickly turns to one of pain

"Sorry, sorry" I apologize not wanting to hurt her anymore.

I push open the doors to the bathroom and see a few girls doing their makeup, they turn their heads to look at us and turn their noses up when their eyes land on the younger girl I'm carrying.

"Who said the slut was invited," One of them says causing the others to chuckle like hyenas

"You better wash your mouth out with soap before I do it for you," I tell the girls keeping a scary look on my face and my voice low that causes them to frantically nod their heads and scramble out.

"That was amazing," She says as I let her go

"One of my many talents, how to scare the shit out of people," I tell her winking at the end

"Let me lift you on here so I can get a better look," I tell her and carefully hoist her onto the bathroom sink.

"I don't think I ever caught your name," I tell the girl

"oh yeah it's Emelia, you're Dan right?" She asks me

"That is me indeed" I reply

"do you mind if I lift your top up to check nothings broken?" I ask Emelia

"That's fine," She says

I do what I'm so used to doing on myself and peel her top up just below her bra so I can feel for any broken ribs.

"This might be a bit sensitive but I promise it'll be over quick," I say to Emelia apologetically knowing it's not nice.

I carefully run my fingers over her individual ribs pressing down on certain areas making sure I can't feel anything out of place.

"It looks like nothing is broken but it will bruise over the next couple of days and be painful do to a few things, no sports for two weeks to make sure everything is healed and I suggest lots of rest. Do you want to go to the office so your mom can pick you up?" I ask the girl and see her face drop

"Okay calling home is not an option then that's fine, is there anyone that can come check on you?" I ask not wanting this girl to just go back to class without telling anyone

"I guess my sister she goes to this school too," She says and gets her phone out.

While she's doing that I go through my bag and pull out the first aid kit that I've brought today for my ribs, but Emelia seems like she needs it more than me.

"She said she's coming now," Emelia tells me.

"Let me wrap it for you so it's not as painful today," I tell her

"How come you have all this stuff with you?" She asks me curiously

"Oh I'm trying out for the football team tonight and I know the boys are going to go at me hard so I came prepared," I tell her slightly lying

"It's cool that you're trying out, no other girls done that before," Emelia says making me smile

"Someones got to be the first haven't they," I say winking at her

"You don't have to tell me, but why don't you want to call your mom?" I ask hoping I'm not overstepping any boundaries.

"Mom has enough going on with her and dad going through a divorce and working long hours at the hospital, I don't want her to worry about me on top of it all," She says sadly amd lowering her head down in shame.

"That's perfectly understandable, I know what's it's like not wanting to burden your parents with anything more than they are already going through," I tell her thinking back to when my dad was around.

"Really?" she asks, her head lifting up a little.

"Really, so if you ever need to get out of the house for a bit just give me a call and we can go somewhere to hang, how does that sound?" I say to the younger girl

"Sounds awesome," She tells me happily as we exchange numbers.

"Hey, can I ask why those girls said those things when you walked in?" I question not liking the fact that called her a slut

"It's nothing really, my boyfriend is pretty popular in our year and all the girls are jealous so they just call me names," She says shrugging it off but I can tell it affects her still

"If you ever need me to have a word with a few snotty teenage girls, I'll be more than happy to scare them a little," I say and send her a cheeky wink

"Thanks Dan, I might take you up on that," She says laughing slightly

"Emelia! Oh God are yo- Dan?" Alex says bursting into the toilets

"Hey Alex, I'm guessing Emelia is your sister then," I say looking between the too and now noticing the resemblance they have .

"Yeah, and she can't seem to stay out of trouble" Alex replies glaring at her sister.

"It wasn't my fault! Jaelene cornered me and wouldn't leave me alone until Dan came and stopped her" Amelia says

"But you're okay though, she didn't touch you right?" Alex asks as I glare at Emelia to tell her sister the truth

"Not technically" Emelia answers making me roll my eyes

"Jaelene slammed her book into Emelia's ribs and they are going to be pretty bruised so I've told her to take it easy for a couple of days and no sport for two weeks so they can fully heal" I inform Alex since it didn't look like Emelia was going to anytime soon.

"I don't care if she goes after me but there's no way she's touching my sister and getting away with it" Alex seethes out angrily

"Leave it Alex, Dan already handled it," Emelia says stopping her sister from storming out and doing god knows what to Jaelene.

"I tried punching her but I ended up hitting one of her minions instead, unfortunately," I add making Emelia chuckle a little

"I'm sorry I wasn't there," Alex says sadly to her sister

"Its alright Lex, nothing that's not going to heal" Emelia replies and carefully hops down.

"You're all set to go, take two of these twice a day after food for the next three days and then if it's still bad come find me okay?" I tell the younger girl

"Got it, doctor," she says cheekily

"Stay out of trouble now, I don't want to hear about you getting into any fights missy," I tell Alex's sister while she leaves the bathroom chuckling.

"Thank you for sorting her out, she can be a handful sometimes," Alex says to me letting out a pretty deeps sigh

"She's a good kid just caught up in the wrong situations," I tell Alex knowing it's the truth

"I just wish she could stay out of trouble just for a little bit" Alex replies

"Emelia did mention what was going on at home," I say tentatively

"She did! Why would she do that! I don't want anyone knowing!" Alex shouts in disbelief, getting a little panicked

"It's okay, look I probably understand better than anyone and I'll give you the same offer I gave your sister, if you ever want to get out of the house for a couple of hours just gave me a call and we can just get away from it all," I tell Alex knowing it's what I would have wanted.

"Thanks Dan, that means a lot actually," Alex says gratefully.

"It's not a problem, get my number off your sister because I'm incredibly late for my lesson," I say chuckling to Alex

"I'll catch you at lunch then Dan," She says as I run down the corridor

"See you then Morgan" I reply and head to my Algebra class.

"Nice of you to finally join us Dan," The teacher says as I walk in

"Sorry, emergency," I say and head to my seat next to Kelley as usual.

"You walked past me this morning, how come you're so late" Kelley whispers as I get all my books out.

"Somone needed help" I reply not getting into any detail about it

"Okay, well I've written down the notes you've missed so far," she says handing me over a piece of paper full of equations and words

"Aww thanks freckles," I say sinking at her which causes a blush to appear in her cheeks

"I-its nothing" She stutters out cutely getting all flustered again.

I sit there thinking about Alex and Emelia's situation for a little bit, knowing full well what it's like to have a parent overworking and yourself not wanting to add any more pressure onto thier plate. Maybe I can help the sisters out while I'm here, it doesn't mean I need to let them in but I can offer my services out.


	4. Yeah I am and clearly I've got bigger balls than you

Sorry to bother you at this  
time but Emelia is in a lot of pain  
and I'm unsure of what to do,  
could you come over and take a  
look at her? - Alex

Absolutely, give me your address  
and I'll be over soon - Dan

Thank you so much! I'll send it now  
come round the back and I'll open  
my window

Once I've got Alex's address I realise it's only a couple of blocks away from mine so I drive there pretty quickly dodging in and out of the traffic.

I finally get to her house and head round the back spotting a room with the lights on. I notice the tree right next to her window so I climb up it and spot it's open and inch. I slide the glass back and climb through with my bag on my back.

"I'm so sorry about this, I would try and help but I really have no clue what I'm doing and Emelia said you did," Alex says a panicked look on her face

"it's not a problem Al, you guys only live a couple of blocks away and I was heading home from practice anyways." I say

"Oh yeah, how did it go," Emelia asks through gritted teeth as she lies on the bed

"Good actually, I'm the new quarterback and Davidson, Woods and Lawson all got kicked off the team" I answer walking over to her

"Lawsons the one you hit right?" Alex asks

"Yep he had a nice busted nose and cheek," I tell them happily.

"Let's have a look at you shall we," I say and lift up Emelia's top

"I bent down earlier to pick up my books and then I felt something just like, pop" She explains as I run my fingers over her ribs again

"uh-huh, it looks like one of your ribs has shifted out of place, it was probably already weak from when you were hit but bending down gave it the final push" I say trying to figure out how to go about this next

"so what do we do know, we can't let it stay like that can we?" Alex asks concerned

"No so we are going to move it back into place. Emelia, I need you to bite down on this, Alex sit here and take your sister hand so she can squeeze it please" I tell the two siblings and hand Emelia some bandage to bite down on.

"On the count of three, I'm going to put it back into place, okay," I say as calmly as possible while Emelia nods her head up and down.

"One." I say and watch as she takes a sharp breath in

"two," I say next and quickly push down hard on her rib

She lets out a muffled scream but is quickly soothed back down by Alex running her fingers through her hair.

"it's all done now, back into place like before," I say not liking to have had to do that any bit myself

"That hurt like a bitch" Emelia says chuckling slightly

"I know, it's not a very nice thing to do. I'll wrap some more support around your ribs and give you some more painkillers but just take your movements very slowly from now on okay?" I tell her sternly

"Got it" she replies as I wrap up her midsection

"Look after her and make sure she doesn't do anything too stupid," I say to Alex

"don't worry, she's not leaving my sight" Alex says glaring at her younger sister

"alright well I'll see you two at school," I tell them and say my goodbyes before climbing back down out her window and quietly walking back to my bike.

I drive back slowly taking in the night lights around me and the peaceful streets that seem to be quiet for once.

I've never really felt at home in many places considering I move so much and I wouldn't really call Mick and Brittney good parents to go home to.

But for some reason, this town feels a little more homely. Maybe it's because of the people I've met or it's because I finally have more freedom, but this is a town where I can actually see my self staying in for a while, going to high school and graduating with my class in a couple of years.

I don't feel a pressure to act a certain way or treat people differently just so I don't get bullied. I mean nothings perfect, take Jaelene for example, but neither am I and I've managed for 17 years so far. I think I can handle a snotty bitch for a few more.

\- - - -

"you ready for your first practice after school Dan?" Ash asks me at the lunch table the next day

"You know it, it's been waiting to get my cleats out for ages," I say excitedly but also looking around the canteen trying to find Alex since she's not here yet.

I get my phone out and see I've got no missed calls or text from Alex or Emelia which does make me worry a little.

"Why do you look so stressed?" Hope asks me, chuckling lightly.

"Do you know where Alex is?" I ask her eventually giving up on trying to do it discreetly

"she was in my last lesson but said she needed to go somewhere and she'd join us in a bit," Sonnett says speaking up

"Okay, thanks sonnett," I say and carry on eating trying to not worry about the two siblings

"why are you looking for her anyway?" Ash asks me curiously

"oh I just need to her to give me the homework for our next lesson together" I lie giving Ash a small smile

Soon enough Alex walks in with Emelia by her side, I can see that Emelia doesn't look too happy about it though and the pair wall over towards our table

"is it cool for Em to sit with us today" Alex says to everyone. We all shout our varied response of it's alright and the sisters sit down in the spare seats next to me

"How come your sitting with us today Junior?" Kelley asks the younger Morgan sibling

"because Alex won't let me leave her side," Emilia says turning to glare at her sister

"and you wonder why" Alex says glaring back just as hard.

"can someone please fill me in because I feel like I'm missing something here" Tobin says speaking up

"Jaelene may or may not have hit me yesterday in the ribs and they may or may not be very bruised" She says, this seems to cause an uproar on the table and everyone starts shouting about how they're going to kill the bitch

"guys seriously calm down, I'm all good now and Dan handled it anyways" She says turning to give me a smile while I ruffle her hair

"That's why you punched Lawson," Hope says turning to me in realisation

"I meant to get Jaelene but he got in the way" I say shrugging my shoulder

"imagine what you would've done to her if Lawson looks like that" Christen says pointing behind me.

I turn around and my eyes travel to the Queen Bees table and looking directly at Lawson who's eye is completely black and the bruise travels all the way round to his cheek and then nose

"I didn't realise I hit him that hard" I say thinking back to it

"It was so cool to watch, he literally fell to the floor like sack of potatoes" Emelia says

"How are the ribs today Emelia?" I ask the younger girl

"they are better than yesterday especially after you popped them back into place" She says to me

"That's good, are you still icing them?" I ask wanting to make sure she's taking care of herself

"Yeah I iced them in the morning and I'll do it as soon as I get home too" She tells me, I nod my head happily glad she's listening to my advice.

"I'm confused again" Tobin says

"my ribs like popped out of place last night so Toni came over and fixed me up," Emilia says as the whole table shivers at the thought

"okay that sounds disgusting" Christen says

"oh it was" Alex tells them all chuckling

"How do you even know how to do that?" Kelley says to me

"I've had to do it a couple of times myself," I say not realising what I've said before it's too late

"why have you had to do it before," Kelley asks looking at me concerned

"Oh you know, I've got in a couple of fights in my previous schools," I say partially lying about it

"And you say you weren't the classic bad girl of the school" Christen says making me laugh

"I don't really help my point here do I" I say laughing along with everyone else

The conversation continues throughout lunch and I find myself laughing at all the embarrassing stories this groups of friends have with each other.

My eyes travel to Kelley and I have to snap out of my daze before Alex catches me staring again and tells everyone.

"When are you asking her out on a date?" Emelia whispers next to me unexpectedly

"what do you mean?" I say trying to play it off

"don't act dumb with me, I can see the way you look at Kelley," She says quietly making me turn and look at her in defeat

"I've kind of already asked her out I just haven't set a date yet" I say thinking back to when Alex basically forced me to do it the other day

"well what are you waiting for?" Emelia says

"I've never really done any of this before, I have no clue how it works" I say truthfully being careful to not speak loudly enough for the others to hear

"so you're gelling me you've never been on a date" She says looking at me in shock

"girls normally just throw themselves on me and we have sex" I say thinking back to the countless schools where I've hooked up with girls

"ew that's gross and I hope you don't plan on doing that to Kelley" She says glaring at me, the same scary glare that Alex has

"Nope I like Kelley too much to ever do that to her" I say honestly which seems to be a good enough answer for Emelia as she smiles approvingly

"so by the sounds of it, you need a date planner, am I correct" She asks smirking at me

"yes, I need a date planner" I sigh in defeat since I've got literally no clue in where to start

"Luckily for you I've know Kelley for my whole life which make me you're perfect candidate" She says proudly, I can't help but chuckle at her silly behavior

"okay Emelia, you're hired" I say jokingly to the younger girl

"tell Kelley tonight that you are taking her out on Friday, to dress casual and you'll pick her up at 6" She says turning serious

"but nothing is planned yet how am I going to tell her all that by tonight," I say confused

"you really underestimate my date planning abilities Dan, just do as I say and everything will be sorted" She says smiling widely and turning back to her food.

I really hope Emelia does a good job at planning this day with Kelley because you only get you're first date once and I want it to be special.

The end of the day rolls around soon enough and I'm currently in the locker rooms getting changed with the rest of the girls for my first practice.

"nervous?" Ash asks me smirking even so slightly

"not at all" I say grinning back at the goalie

We head outside to where coach is setting up the equipment

"I didn't realise you coached the soccer team too" I say going up to him and helping carry the bags across the field

"Indeed I do, no one else wanted to do it so I decided to run it along with football, I have to admit it gets a little much sometimes but winning all the trophies with these girls does make it worth it," Coach says happily smiling at me.

"well I'm happy you do because I haven't been able to play soccer in almost a year now," I say thinking back to how my last school didn't have a team.

"if you're as any good at soccer as you are at football, you'll be fine here," He says before getting the team together for the start of practice.

"How are you feeling?" Kelley asks once we've been dismissed to start our first drill

"excited to get back to playing soccer really," I tell the freckled girl

"I'm excited to see you play too" She tells me smiling happily

"you know what I'm also excited for" I say smirking at her as we continue to walk

"what's that? Kelley asks innocently

"to go out with you on Friday at 6 for our date" I say confidently

"our date?" Kelley asks shocked

"the one I asked you out on yesterday, you still want to go right?" I ask hoping she's not going to turn me down

"of course I just thought you'd forgotten" she says blushing slightly

"never, now dress casual and I'll come pick you up," I say smiling at the defender before heading to where I need to be for training.


	5. The less people know about me the better

Training went amazing and all the girls are really good at soccer, especially Kelley, I couldn't get a single ball past her in defence today.

I'm currently heading back to Alex and Emelia's house since they invited me over to help plan my date with Kelley, and to be honest, I need all the help I can get.

"Hey mom, is it alright for my friend to stay for a bit?" Alex shouts walking into her house

"Alex! You didn't ask your mom beforehand!" I whisper yell at her

"chill, my mom will be fine with it" Alex says hushing me as I follow behind the two siblings.

"Alex sweetie is that you?" I hear an older woman say as she comes around the corner.

I stand behind a little awkwardly to be honest since I don't look like the best influence on Alex and Emelia with my tattoos and bike jacket in my hand.

"oh I didn't realise we were having guests, I'm Pam," Alex's mom says coming to me and sticking her hand out.

"it's nice to meet you ma'am, I'm Dan, sorry to show up unannounced like this," I say apologetically

"nonsense, Alex knows I like having her friends around and she never brings any over anymore" She says looking at her oldest daughter.

"well I've brought Dan round haven't I?" Alex says in protest

"I suppose so, now I'll get making the dinner and I will call you down when it's ready," She says smiling and walking off, I go to speak not wanting to inside on the food as well

"don't bother trying to get out of it, once she says you're staying for tea, you're staying," Emelia says to me.

"you two are unbelievable," I say following behind them and up to their room

"Before we start I need to have a word with you" Alex says turning very stern all of a sudden

"here we go" Emelia mumbles out rolling her eyes

"Kelley and I have been best friends our whole life, we went to kindergarten together and then all through high school, she's been in past relationships where she's gotten really hurt and I don't want to see that happen again. So I'm warning you now if you hurt Kelley in any way I will kill you, got it" Alex says making me visibly gulp in fear.

I just nod my head up and down not knowing what to say in response to her threat.

"But I like you a lot more than her previous girlfriend so we'll be fine" She says switching back to the kind Alex I knew

"Now you're done scaring Dan, we can actually start our date planning," Emelia says

"I told her at training that I would pick her up at 6 on Friday and to dress casual," I say to Emelia remembering what she asked me to do

"perfect, I can cross that off the list and move onto step two, venues," She says getting out a little notepad

"We both know Kelley loves nature and going on walks so I thought we could take her on one of the trails that looks over the city," She says turning to look at her sister.

"not Kent park, that gets too windy at night time and Kelley's done it a thousand time," Alex says while I just listen to the two

"what about Camden Forest, they just opened that new trail the other week that goes to the big cliff rock," Emelia says

"Yes! That'll be perfect, Kelley's been talking about it for ages" Alex says happily

"won't it get a bit cold though," I ask thinking about how quickly the weather drops here

"it will but you'll be prepared and bring her one of your jumpers to wear" Emelia says winking at me

"smart, smart" I reply nodding my head along and just letting those two tell me everything

"our next problem is transport, you can't take her on your bike," Alex says

"what why! I thought it would be like one of those sexy dates you see in moves" I say wiggling my eyebrows

"Watch yourself, that's my best friend" Alex says staring me down again

"You can just borrow Alex's car" Emelia says

"Yeah sure, don't bother asking me first Em" Alex says sarcastically

"what, it's not like I have a car to offer out" Emelia says in protest

"whatever, you can take my car Dan, just don't you dare crash it," Alex says giving me a stare yet again, damn this girl can be scary when she wants

"Dinners ready girls!" Pam shouts from down the stairs

"Coming mom!" Emelia shouts back

"Does your mom like me?" I whisper to Alex as we walk down the stairs

"of course she's does, why would you ask that?" Alex says to me

"I mean I don't look the friendliest of people on the surface, I've got muscles, I've got a lot of tattoos, I ride a motorcycle and I get kicked out of like all my schools," I say listening of the few things I can think of at the moment

"my mom doesn't care one bit about what anyone looks like or what they've done in the past, she sees everyone for who they are now and what they're like inside," Alex says sweetly

"well she sounds like a great mom," I say trying not to sound too sad

"she's the best" Alex replies as we enter the kitchen.

"take a seat you lot and I'll get you all a plate now" Pam says

We all do as we're told and sit down and somehow I end up in the middle of the two Morgan siblings who decide to have a squabbling match

"If you two don't stop arguing right now, I'll throw you out the house," I say sternly to the pair

"you do know it's our house right," Alex says crossing her arm over her chest

"and?" I ask smirking back.

"Dan you can stay here whenever you want if it means you get these two to shut up," Pam says causing Alex and Em to shout back in protest.

The rest of the evening is spent chatting to the Morgan family before Pam has to heads off to her second shift tonight at the hospital and Em heads to her room.

"Come round whenever you want love, you're more than welcome in this household," She tells me

"I appreciate that Pam, thank you," I say smiling at let the Alex say goodbye before we're left alone.

"Thanks for letting me stay for dinner guys, I haven't had a home-cooked meal like in forever!" I tell Alex laughing lightly

"Do your parents not know how to cook?" Alex says laughing but my face drops at the mention of them.

"I-I'm so sorry for mentioning them, d-did something happens, you do t have to talk about it if you don want to," Alex asks looking really uncomfortable.

"no it's alright, you opened up to me and I guess it may help to talk a little," I say taking in a deep breath and finding someplace to sit.

"I don't judge alright, whatever you say stays in this house only," Alex says putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder

"I haven't always been like this you know, I put on a hard act and pretend to be all tough but I just do it to protect myself. My mom and dad had a great marriage and they were the best parents I could ask for but one day we found out mom was sick, she had cancer. It was tough on us all hearing this, I was only 10 at the time, but we got through it because we had each other. Mom didn't get better though and she died after trying to fight it for over a year. It broke us all but badly, I started acting out at school more, I guess taking my frustration out over the situation." I say composing myself so I don't start crying because there's no way I'm doing the in front of people. I haven't cried twice since moms died.

"Jesus Dan, I always thought you were just the bad girl type of person" Alex says

"and that's how I like, the less that people know about me the better," I say

"I feel like this isn't even the end of it all" Alex says and I nod my head slowly knowing there's still more.

"My dad met someone when I was 13, Brittany, I never liked her but my dad did and was happy with her so I put my problems aside and put up with the woman. They got serious pretty fast, my dad popped the question just after 10 months of dating and they were married after 1. I tried to tell him to slow down and not rush but he was head over heals, anything I said just went straight over his head. They went on their honeymoon that next month a-and my dad never came back, there was an accident that happened on a boat trip and he drowned, leaving me with no parents and a stepmom I hated." I say clenching my jaw shut

"Why do you say accident like you don't believe it is?" Alex asks me

"because that's just it, I don't believe it was an accident. This woman just pops into our lives in under a year and is married to my dad, then they go away and he drowns leaving her with everything because somehow the will said she gets it all and 2 months later there's a new boyfriend, Mick, on the scene! I've been trying to figure it all out since the day he died almost 3 years ago" I finish saying finally being able to get all my thoughts about it out to someone.

"Have you not gone to the authorities about this!" Alex says in shock

"It all happened overseas so they don't have any jurisdiction to investigate and I'm almost positive the police over there didn't want the news to get out so just swept it under the rug" I reply thinking back to when I stormed the police station demanding they find out what happened.

"I'm going to help you Dan, you're going to come over and we're going to sit together and figure this out, I don't care how long it takes us, if I have to miss my bloody graduation for it I will. You've only been here a week or so but I can tell you're going to be very important to me and I want to help you out" Alex says shuffling closer and hugging me tightly

"I don't want to get you involved in it all in case it's something bad" I say thinking the worst

"I couldn't give two shits Dan, I'm not letting you do this alone any longer, anyways, a fresh pair of eyes could do you some good." Alex says finally letting me go.

"I've been taking an online degree in Criminology and Investigation in hopes it will help me understand everything better and it has to be fair" I say sitting back up again

"You're taking a degree, you're only 17!" Alex shouts in shock

"Yes I am because I need to be able to figure it out properly in order to have everything to take straight to the top" I say having thought long and hard about this for years now.

"I'm more and more surprised by you every second Dan" Alex says chuckling

"I appreciate you just listening to me talk for a while but I should probably head back home now" I say and stand up.

"Okay, stay safe please I'll I'll see you tomorrow" Alex says and hugs me one last time before I wave goodbye to the pair and head out to my bike.

Brittney may think she's gotten away with whatever she did to my dad but I'm one her case, and I'm not going to stop until she's either locked in a cage or 6 feet underground, I can promise you that.


	6. I'm going to kill that bitch when I see her next

"Alex I love you! I'll bring it back safely, I promise" I shout out her car window

"you better! Now go and have a good date with Kelley" She says smiling as I drive off and head to Kelley's house for our very much anticipated date.

I follow the directions to the more rough area of town, surprising rougher than where I'm currently staying but this is a foster home I'm going to and everyone knows they get shit money from the government.

I spot the house I'm looking for, which isn't hard since it's the biggest here, and slow down my car enough to spot Kelley already walking to me.

I try to get out so I can be a gentleman and open her door for her but she's got other ideas as she just climbs in quickly herself

"you might want to drive off now unless you want 5 much older boys to come out of that door" Kelley says and I put my foot back in the gas very quickly

"good shout," I say as I drive down the road not wanting to face 5 overprotective guys on our first date.

"You look beautiful by the way" I say turning to take in what Kelley is wearing.

A simple shirt tucked into her high waisted jeans that are slightly rolled up at the ends, showing off her brightly coloured shoes. Nothing too fancy but enough to make you do a double take if she was passing you by on the street

"You look very handsome yourself" Kelley says blushing slightly as she looks at me.

"Really? I was going for the more bad boy type of look with my leather jacket, not doing it for you freckles" I say as Kelley turns her head away, her cheeks going a deeper shade of red than before.

I let out a small chuckle finding it amusing how easily the girl blushes but carry on concentrating driving Alex's car.

The rest of the journey is mostly the both of us making idle chat about school and what's going on in life. Talking about how Ash managed to completely humiliate herself in class the other day.

"So are you going to tell me where we going yet?" Kelley says turning to look at me curiously

"Nope, but we are almost there" I say just as I pull up to the trails car park.

"Wait, is this Camden Forest?" Kelley asks gasping to me in surprise.

"It is indeed, and a little birdie told me that they've just opened a new trail" I say smirking at the freckled girl.

"I don't suppose this birdie was Alex?" Kelley says questioning me.

"It may have been, and she may have said how you've been talking about it for weeks" I say stepping out the car and jogging over to her door so I can open it.

"I've been waiting forever to do it, I've just never found the time" She says, taking my hand as I help her out

"Well lucky for you, I'm here to do it with you" I reply grabbing my rucksack out the car and locking it before smiling at a very excited looking Kelley

"Ready to do this freckles?" I ask

"More than ready" She says, the grin never leaving her face.

We walk side by side up the trail, myself taking in the new scenery something I haven't yet had a chance to appreciate since moving to this small little town, but Kelley looks at it like it the first time she's seeing it again, the twinkle in her eye like it's the most magnificent thing she's witnessed.

"So tell me a little about yourself Dan, why come to this town?" Kelley asks breaking the silence

"Well I didn't have much of a choice, Mick had to move here for his job so I had to move too" I say turning to look at Kelley quickly

"Is Mick a relative?" Kelley asks treading lightly probably not wanting to over step

"Most definitely not, he's my step moms boyfriend that lives with us, he's the only one to bring an income in so I'm stuck with him." I tell Kelley

"So you're a little like me then, not having parents" Kelley says and I feel my heart break a little

"Not quite, I did have parents once, a mother and a father actually and we were all really happy but my mom got sick when I was around 10, cancer, and she died a year later. My dad took it really hard and I guess I did too, shut myself off from the world really" I say not making eye contact with Kelley, I don't want the sympathetic look I know she'll give me.

Instead, I feel a hand slip into mine slowly, fingers interlocking with my own and squeezing ever so slightly.

"My dad eventually met someone when I was 13 and he fell in love again, I didn't like her but she made my dad happy so I put up with her. They got married a year later and the next thing you know there off on a honeymoon but except my dad never came back, he drowned" I say clenching my jaw a little as I tell her he drowned.

"That's awful Dan, I'm so sorry you had to go through that" Kelley says, giving me the sympathy I constantly get.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, it wasn't you're fault and it happened a few years back, I've moved on" I say shrugging it off, not letting her see that it still hurts to talk about

"Well if you ever feel like talking I'm always here to listen, maybe a new ear you've never had before" Kelley says making me look down at her in a little surprise, not many people want to listen to it, finding it awkward and uncomfortable to talk about.

"Thank you freckles, now I've spilled my life story, I think it's you're turn" I say winking at Kelley getting a small chuckle out of her

"I guess that's fair enough. My life's pretty boring really, I live in an orphanage, I'm pretty shy if you hadn't noticed" She says

"Oh I've noticed" I say butting in and causing her to blush

"I blush a lot thanks to you, I play soccer, I've got a group of amazing fiends and Alex has been my best friends since forever" Kelley tells me and I nod my head making sure to let her know I'm fully listening

"Alex seems to care about you a lot, she gave me a talk and a half when I mentioned taking you on a date" I say leaving out the last relationship part for a bit

"Yeah, Alex has always been protective of me ever since we've grown up, we've been with each other through everything as she's like the only constant I've got in my life" Kelley tells me and I know what's it's like to have someone that you rely on and what it means when they're ripped away from you, Kelley's lucky enough in that sense to still have Alex

"Every difficult day at school or if I was having a bad day at the foster home. But most importantly to me she was always there when things didn't work out with foster family's, always the one to pick up the pieces" Kelley says and I look down at her smiling at the sweet story.

"You're lucky to have such a good friend like Alex, I know I would want something like you guys have" I tell Kelley honestly

"I don't know about that, I've got a feeling you two are going to be super close" Kelley tells me

I don't reply but squeeze her hand that's somehow still intertwined with mine. The rest of the walk involves Kelley explaining the nature and history behind everything here, how old some of these trees are and the landscapes that make everything so distinctive

"What about that place?" I ask pointing to the old abandoned building closed off my a gate and tape saying 'stay clear' wrapped around it.

"That building has been there practically since the beginning of this town, it was first built back in 1745 by the British who discovered this land. That's why we have a lot of British tourists, anyways, it was used as a factory for making cotton since it needs a damp environment and you know what it's like here, the said is always moist. It got bombed in plenty of wars but was always rebuilt back up. I think it was just after the second world war where it was bombed for the fourth time that they rebuilt it but closed it down afterwards, keeping it as a memory for the town's history. Unfortunately, it was forgotten about and is now just a run-down factory that no one's allowed to even see" Kelley explains in detail

"you really know your stuff don't you freckles," I say chuckling in shock about how much she knows

"I just find it all so fascinating how something so old could still be here today" Kelley tells me happily

"come on, I think we've arrived at our destination" I say pulling her towards the rock edge, the perfect viewing point of the small town we're living in.

"This is beautiful" Kelley breaths out, sitting down slowly making sure to take everything in

"Isn't it just" I reply and find myself not even looking at the view but at Kelley's freckled face where the sun has managed to make her glow.

"Can I ask you something?" I say building up the courage to say what's been on my mind since I had the talk with Alex

"Shoot" She says shuffling her butt around so she's facing me crossed legged

"When Alex was telling me to basically not break your heart she mentioned a past girlfriend and how it didn't end so well..." I ask trailing off at the end finding it a little difficult to string together what I'm ever trying to ask.

I watch as Kelley's whole body practically deflated down, her shoulders dropping forward and her head dipping ever so slightly.

"I wasn't always a shy person I was probably one of the loudest on the team, always cracking jokes, trying to ever other people to laugh and smile even if was at my own expense. One day Ash and I were getting a bit rowdy and I ended up throwing my slushie drink at her, unfortunately for me, she ducked at the last second and it so happened Jaelene was standing behind her right where the drink was heading." Kelley explains

"Oh shit" I say realising what happens next

"Yeah, to say she want happy about having a red drink all over her clothes was an understatement. I knew she would do something to get me back but I just didn't know what. A few days went by and nothing, a few weeks and still nothing, and then a few months and I thought she'd let me off the hook. But one day a girl from her little group started getting close to me, flirting in class and always touching me, asking if I wanted to hang out all the time and before I knew it she was my girlfriend but in secret." Kelley says continuing her story but stopping to let out a shaky breath.

"We dated for 2 months before she exposed me in front of the whole school and broke up with me there and then, saying she couldn't believe I was a Dyke and fake dated me to get back for what I did to Jaelene and expose me for being a faggot," Kelley says and I feel my hands clenching to fists over what she's just told me.

"I'm going to kill that bitch when I see her next" I seethe out angrily not believing what she did to my girl, ugh I really need to stop saying that

"don't please, it was hard enough stopping Alex I don't need you to go off on her too" Kelley says grabbing my hand and unfolding my fist so it tangles into hers.

"but thank you for saying that, it means a lot knowing you'd do something about it" Kelley says as we both stare into the distance and the town below us.

My hatred towards Jaelene has just been increased by about 200 so she better watch her back next time because I've got no plan on holding back


	7. If you say a word to anyone, I'll make sure you can't walk again

After we finish sitting by the cliff edge and I manage to get a few brownie points in my giving Kelley a spare jacket I packed, we make the walk back down to Alex's car and I drive Kelley home before a search party is sent out by the guys in her home.

I pull up to her place and quickly get out of my side so I can run around and open the car door for her.

"Thank you for tonight, I had a really good time" Kelley says playing with the ends of my sweater.

"Well I'd be more than happy to do it again sometime freckles, what do you say?" I ask her

"Yeah, I would love too" Kelley says a small smile on her lips.

"Great, I'll see you on Monday then Kel" I reply and lean in to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.

I walk back round to my side and watch as Kelley goes back to her home, I'm about to drive off when Kelley shouts for me

"Wait, Dan, I've still got your hoodie," She says

"I know, keep it" I reply and wink at her before driving off back to Alex's house.

I know full well that Kelley was blushing back there which just makes me like her even more, god I'm going soft. The drive to Alex's place is pretty peaceful, not many cars on the road and few people out walking, I guess it's just one of those quiet days.

I park the car in her driveway and take the keys out the ignition, swinging them around my index finger out of habit and walking to her front door. I'm about to knock when I hear shouting going on inside.

"I can't believe you've fucking sued me! How dare you do that!" A man I've never heard before shouts out

"What did you expect Micheal! You're leaving us with nothing, how am I supposed to feed your kids, keep them warm, get them to school, pay for their college tuition! You go off and live a happy life with your new family but you can be sure as hell I'm suing your ass for every penny you own" I hear Pam shout to what I think is her soon to be very ex-husband.

"you fucking bitch!" He shouts out, I plan to just post the keys threw the letterbox and walk away from this slightly awkward family moment but when I hear the sound of glass shattering I know it's gone bad.

"Dad! What the fuck are you doing! Stop it!" Alex yells out.

The sound of pure terror in her voice makes my blood boil and my instincts just kick in. I take a few step back from the door and run straight at it, making sure to shoulder barge it by it's hinges.

As I make contact, the door comes flying forward and I stumble into the house, the momentum of my body bringing me down to the floor along with the door

"Get off her!" Alex screams tears rushing down her face as she looks on in horror at her father pinning their mother to the wall, his fingers tightly wrapped around her neck.

Something in me just snaps and my fight or flight kicks in. Fortunately for me, it's the fight part and I sprint head-on at Micheal and lunge at his waist, knocking him straight to the floor where I situate myself on top of him.

I send fist after fist to his face all my anger bubbling to the surface and coming out of my fists. I'm so fixated on just punching this son of a bitch that I don't notice him reaching over next to him and grabbing a vase.

The next thing I know it's throw at my head and I'm knocked off his body. It's his turn to send punches to my face, hitting my in the jaw and eye while I try to bring my arms up in hopes to block some of them.

"Dad stop!" I hear Alex yell out again. I manage to muster up enough energy to bring my feet up and kick his body off my own.

I quickly scramble to my feet ignoring the pounding going on in my head for a second and start sending kicks to his stomach and body.

"Don't you ever lay hand on anyone in this family again!" I scream out in pure anger

"Do you hear me!" I ask leaning down to grab him by the collar and look him in the eye

"Leave him Dan, please" Alex pleads out in hysterics.

I just throw him back down and start pulling him towards the door and back into Alex's car.

"Check on your mom, I'll be back in a bit" I say before throwing Michael's limp body in the passenger seat.

My hands grip onto the steering wheel tightly, my knuckles are covered in both of our blood and the pain from them is increasing as I grin onto the wheel tighter.

"If you say a word to anyone, I'll make sure you can't walk again" I spit out to the useless piece of a father this guy is.

I drive up the hospital and walk out, opening his door and grabbing him before dumping him near the street.

"This better be the last time I ever see you Michael" I spit out and climb back in Alex's car before racing off back to her house.

I can't believe that their dad could do that to their mother, I knew all about the divorce and the struggles that were happening with it but not once did they ever mention him being physical. I guess you don't really know people sometimes.

I pull up to the house yet again and park the car, the adrenaline of the while even suddenly wearing off and find myself stumbling forward and slumping down the side of her car.

"Dan! Shit, come on I'll take you inside" I hear Alex says as she bends down and scoops me up under her arm.

"sit down here, I'll go get a clean cloth to wipe the blood," She says and quickly runs off, I didn't even notice I was bleeding until it starts dripping on my lap.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" I hear Pam gasp from behind me.

"I'll be fine Pam, are you okay, he didn't hurt you badly did he" I ask concerned that I didn't make it in time

"Not at all, my necks a little red but you saved me before he did any real damage," Pam says coming to sit down next to me on the sofa. No one says a word to the other and I don't think anyone has the right mind to form sentences right now

"I-I'm so sorry about everything Pam, I didn't mean to attack Michael but when I saw him holding you like that all I could think about was my mom and I lashed out. I totally understand if you don't want me to be friends with your children again I know I'm not good enough for them, what I did was out of order" I say apologetically just as Alex comes over and holds a piece of cloth to my bleeding head.

"Dan, you listen to me closely right now," Pam says getting very serious

"Don't you ever say you're not good enough for my children. What you did today saved my life and quite possible my children too and I will forever be thankful to you for that, you're the sweetest person I know Dan, under all the muscle and tattoos you have the kindest heart out of anyone" She says as a few tears slip out of my eye and down my cheek

"come here sweetie, let's get you cleaned up," she says patting her lap for me to lie my head on.

I let out a shaky breath and settle my head down, slowly closing my eyes as Pam runs her fingers through my hair.

\- - - -

"Alex?" I whisper in the dark wondering if she's asleep next to me

"yeah?" she says almost straight away.

I carefully shuffle myself around to my side so I'm facing her, I can hear her doing the same things.

"I can't sleep, It's just running in my head over and over again" I whisper opening up to Alex a little something I don't do very often at all.

"Neither can I, I just keep on seeing him holding my mom by the neck and I'm just standing there doing nothing to help" She whispers and I can tell she's close to crying just by the crack in her voice.

"Alex you can't blame any of that on yourself, your dad chose to do that to your mom and you were just in shock, god knows what he might have done to you if you'd tried to intervene," I say finding Alexs' hand under the covers.

"she's my mom though, I should be able to protect my family if something was to happen to them" She cries out

"I've been in a million and one fights before Alex, I play football, I used to box, I am trained enough to defend myself and others, you're not and that's okay because at the end of the day no one should have to. But if you want I can give you a little training, help you throw a proper punch and what to do when you're in certain situations" I tell her wanting to let Alex know that she doesn't have to feel scared.

"I would really like that Dan, thank you" She whispers hugging me around the waist a little.

"and he deserved what happened to him, he's no longer my father and I couldn't care less than you beat the crap out of him," She says and I just pull her closer towards me, hoping that I'll get to sleep a little faster if I know she's safe.

It doesn't seem to make much difference because I'm still wide awake after 20 minutes wondering if Pam is okay, I don't move thinking Alex has fallen asleep but when she shuffles her body again I know she's awake.

"I still can't sleep" She sighs out sitting up in the bed and turning on the lamp.

"Do you think that we could maybe, erm" I say feeling really awkward asking Alex this

"Do what Dan?" she questions

"I don't want to cause anyone any trouble but I think I'd feel better knowing your mom is okay" I quietly say looking down at my hands but quickly turning them over not wanting to see my bloody knuckles

"Do you want to go sleep in my moms room Dan?" Alex asks sounding surprised I've asked her this

"Yes and no, I guess yes really, I don't know if it will make me feel better knowing she's there"

"Come on Dan, I could use some cuddles from my mom anyways" She replies smiling down at me

I follow behind Alex and she lightly pushes open the door to her mothers room

"Mom?" Alex whispers out into the darkness

"Alex? What are you doing up sweetie?" Pam asks reaching to turn on her side lamp

"We were wondering if we could sleep with you tonight, neither of us can get to sleep just thinking about it all" Alex says quietly

"Of course you guys can, come and snuggle in next to me" She says sending us a sad smile.

Alex and I settle in her bed either sides of her while she lays back down with both of us close to her body.

"How about we all take the day off school tomorrow, the three of us go out somewhere and have a girly day to ourselves?" Pam asks

"Yeah that sounds great mom" Alex tiredly whispers

"I don't know how I can skip without the school calling home" I say

"Don't worry about that, I'll sort it all out Dan, try and get some sleep" Pam says kissing the top of Alex and I's heads quickly and before I know it I'm already passed out in her arms.


	8. The only thing that failed was your dads condom

After Alex and I took the day off yesterday, the whole team were blowing up our phones asking why we were both off but Emelia was in.

They asked her about it but we told Em to not mention anything until we came in the next day, and she doesn't know much herself other than her dad tried to hurt me, we thought it would be best to leave out the part of him grabbing Pam by the neck.

We told the girls that we'd explain everything the next day and that so happens to me right about now.

I head to the bathroom and try to use some of the makeup Alex has lying around to cover the bruise that's spread across the side of my face and the split on my lip but nothing works and I end up wiping it all off anyways

"I've got no hope of covering this up so we need an excuse and quick because we've got..." I say looking down at my watch

"20 minutes until we're bombarded by everyone" I tell Alex as she puts on her jacket.

"I know that Dan, but I'm not going to hide what happened from the girls, they're family and they deserve to know what happened," She says tossing me a camo jacket and a hat to put on.

"The hat will bring less attention to your face" She says as I stand I front of the mirror and adjust it on my head

"I don't get how you can wear my clothes better than me" Alex says staring behind me

"I don't get how you can wear my clothes better than me" Alex says staring behind me   
(The outfit and some of the tattoos I image Dan to have)

"That's just my speciality Morgan" I say and send her a cheeky wink before pocketing my phone and wallet

"Oh we're going to last names now Parker, I see how it is, you better hurry up and get your ass in my car before I drive off without you" She says sending me a stern look that's scares me everytime, I don't get how she does that.

I chase after her down the stairs and see Pam waiting at the bottom for us with brown paper bags in her hand.

"I've made you both lunch and I'll take Emelia to school since she's not ready yet and probably talking to Jack" Pam says handing us over the food.

Oh yeah, turns out the friend's house we've been thinking that Em has been going to is actually her boyfriends. I knew she had one but not the fact she went over late at night!

"Thanks mom" Alex says and kisses her mother's cheek

"Thank you Pam" I say and do the same thing before heading out the door and following Alex to her car.

"you still want me to drop you off home?" Alex asks revving up the engine

"Please, I need to check my bike is still there and not been stolen," I say and Alex nods her head, putting her foot on the gas and driving us to my secret hiding spot.

"I'll meet you around the other side?" I ask Alex

"Yeah, see you in a sec," She says and drives off as I find my bike, hidden in a secret alleyway.

I hop onto it and drive through the cut-through between the two roads and just in time to see Alex car driving up too. I follow behind her as we make the drive to school and wait to be bombarded by everyone.

Just as I expected, all head turn to look my way and I keep head down making sure the cap is secure on my head while I park my bike in the usual spot next to Alex's car

"ready Morgan?" I question taking a deep breath

"I thought you didn't her nervous Parker?" Alex says smugly

"I never said I was nervous" I reply and send her a quick wink before we walk into the school and to our separate lockers.

I'm getting some books out my bag and rearranging a few things when my door is suddenly shut next to me.

"yo, what the fuck?" I say and turn around to see a very unimpressed looking Tobin, Christen, Mal and Julie all staring at me

"oh hey guys," I say and turn to walk off but I'm stooped my Christen

"don't just 'hey guys' us Dan, we didn't hear anything from Alex and you the whole of yesterday an- wait, is that a bruise!" Christen gasps, pulling my hat off my head showing everyone my bruised face

"Chris! Yes it is and I'd appreciate if the whole school didn't know about it" I say snatching it back off her

"you've got some serious explaining to do" Julie says angrily crossing her arms together

"ugh, can we at least find Alex first," I say wanting her to do the explaining and not me

"good thing she's coming this way" Tobin says making me turn around and see Alex walking towards me with an equally angry looking Kelley, Allie, Hope and Ash with her.

"fucking hell Dan, what happened to your face," Ash says being the first one to spot it

"look it's nothing okay, can you all just stop talking for a second and we'll explain everything," I say gesturing to Alex and I

"I'm not doing it here, so follow me to Mr Higgins room," Alex says and drags us all to his classroom

"Firstly, please don't get mad that we never said anything, we both needed the day off to process everything," Alex says to the group

"you guys are starting to really worry me," Kelley says fiddling with her sleeves

"you all know how my parents are getting divorced, well my dad planned on leaving us with nothing so my mom sued him for everything and he found out yesterday. He got really angry and stormed to our house, having a shouting match with my mom about it all and then h-he got aggressive" Alex says trying to tell her friends the horrible thing her father did.

"he almost strangled my mom, he had his hands around her throat a-and pushed her up against th-the wall" Alex starts to say but gets too chocked to continue so I let Allie and Kelley hug her while I continue on

"I was outside when this was all happening, I heard something smash and Alex screaming in the house so I just didn't think and broke down the door before charging at Michael and punching the living daylights out of him. He got a few in himself as you guys can tell but I had the last one's" I say and look at Alex sadly this smiling ever so slightly through her tears.

I don't think the team know what to say but everyone huddle up and hugs the both of us, not a single word is spoken but it doesn't need to be, everyone knows how they feel and we can all tell.

"we're fine now though, mom told us to take the day off and we just went out and did loads of stupid teenage girl things," Alex says smiling at me

"well mostly Alex, there was no way I was getting my nails done" I reply getting a laugh from the group.

"We love you both, I'm sorry you had to get through that but we're all here to help out in whatever way you need," Allie says speaking up

"Thanks guys, but we should really head to lesson now, I've got Mr C and you know how he gets when you're late" Alex says and a few others groan clearly having the teacher too.

I follow the group out of the empty classroom but feel someone pull me back into the room while the others all leave. I turn around and see Kelley looking at me with tears in her eyes

"freckles? Why the tears, you know I hate it when you cry" I say wiping away the ones from her cheeks.

"Are you sure you're okay, it looks really painful?" Kelley asks slowing taking my hat off

"It does hurt but I can't do anything about it except wait it out and let it heal in its own"

"I should've done something" Kelley sighs out slamming the desk behind her

"My best friend almost got beat up by her father and had to watch her mom be strangled by him and then he went and beat you up!" Kelley shouts angrily, tears streaming down her face

"Kelley calm down, it wasn't your fault," I say trying to calm her down

"She's been there for me through everything and the one time she needs me I'm not there" Kelley cries out as I just hug her tightly letting her break down in my arms

"you couldn't have known, I didn't know until I heard something smash and broke the door down to see him grabbing Pam by the neck. I should've been quicker, I should've broken down that door faster. We can blame everything on ourselves as much as we want but at the end of the day, we didn't choose to place our hands around Pam's neck or punch a 17-year-old in the face, that was all on Michael, just like how this is all his fault" I tell Kelley realising myself now that I did everything I could.

"I feel so helpless sometimes you know, you're this badass person with muscles and cool tattoos who rides her motorcycle to school every day, I'm just a shy little nerd who's nothing," Kelley says sadly

"Kelley Maureen O'Hara, listen to me closely okay, you are just nothing, you are the kindest person I know, you love playing soccer, you love learning about the history of your town, you love making your friends laugh, you love watching corny romance movies, you love people who don't even deserve it sometimes," I say to her

"I wish I could be as amazing as you every day so don't ever say you're a nothing because, to me, you're everything and more," I tell Kelley sternly, taking her face in my hands and looking at her Hazel eyes.

She didn't say anything but just stares back at me, I don't realise how close we are until I feel her arms grab mine. I glance down at her lips suddenly and watch as she does the same and soon enough both of us are leaning forward, waiting for our lips to connect.

I close my eyes in anticipation but as soon as I feel her warm breath ghost my lips, the school bell rings signalling the start of the first period.

"We should, erm, yeah we should really get to class" Kelley awkwardly says, her face blushing bright red again.

"to be continued freckles" I wink at the girl, kissing her cheek quickly and running off to my sociology class.

"why are you late Miss Parker and where is your homework?" My teacher says as I walk through the door.

"soz" I reply waving him off and heading to my seat next to Ash at the back of class

"I don't think 'soz' is a very good reason for your missing work and late arrival, so I'll ask you again, why are you late to my class and where is your work?" He says angrily but I really can't be bothered with his shit today so I spin around on my heal and glare at the man.

"It's at home" I say with a blank expression

"and what's it doing there?" He asks thinking he's smug

"having more fun than me apparently," I say letting a smirk fall on my lips as a few of my classmates laugh at my joke.

"you better watch your tone with me little girl" He says making my blood boil at the word 'little girl' since it's what Mick always calls me

"That's funny, I remember calling your mom that last night in bed," I say my face not moving an inch as I glare at the guy.

The students around me all burst out laughing and I can feel Ash's glare at the back of my neck, probably telling me to shut up now but this guy thinks he owns me and I'm not having this.

"I will fail you in this class this instant if you say another word" He threatens me, stepping closer towards my body.

"The only thing that failed was your dad's condom" I retort back a smirk on my face as I watch his morph into pure anger.

I was expecting him to kick me and send me to the principles office but I was certainly not expecting to receive a slap across the face, my hat falling to the floor as the whole class gasp and going into complete silence.

"you fucking bitch" He shouts out to me

I bite down hard on my jaw, trying my best to refrain from hitting him back when Ash gets out of her seat and picks my hat up before quickly taking me out of the classroom.

"Gym, now," She says pointing at me and I angrily storm in that direction all my rage building up inside as I think about what just happened.

I can hear Ash following me behind but I'm too focused and making it to the gym to care about what she's doing. We walk in and the class turns to look at us confused, but soon stop when I glance up and they all see how angry I am.

Ash walks to the store cupboard before walking out with a handful of bats.

"I'll pay you back later," Ash says to coach as we walk past him and to the field.

"I'm really not in the fucking mood for this Ash," I say angrily

"take a bat and smash it," She says tossing me one of the wooden ones

"what?" I ask staring at her in confusion

"smash the bat, hit it against the wall until it's completely shredded," She says grabbing a bat herself and swinging it hard against the wall.

I watch as the wood splits down the middle and Ash continues to pummel it against the wall, nothing but the handle standing by the end of it.

I take a deep breath myself and with everything I've got in me I hit the wall. Again and again and again, everything coming to the surface. Michael and how he treated his family, Alex thought it was her fault, Kelley blaming herself too, Mick and how he treats me, my teacher calling me little girl, my dad's murder.

I don't even notice that my bat is pretty much gone and I'm punching the wall at this point with my bare fists.

"Dan! Stop" Ash shouts wrapping her arms around my body and pulling me away as I thrash against her trying to get free

"you're okay Dan, just relax, I've got you" she says as I collapse in her arms, exhaustion taking over me.

"why me. Who does all the bad stuff happen to me Ash, why can't God just give me a break once in a while" I say burying my head into my hands

"I don't have the answer to that Dan, but I know it all happens for a reason, every experience moulds you into who you're meant to become," She says

"I can't be her Ash, I need to take a few days to myself, tell the others, not to worry and I'll be back for the match tomorrow," I say to the keeper

"Promise me you're not going to do anything stupid," She asks helping me off the floor

"I promise, I just need to be alone right now, tell Kelley and Alex that I'm safe and my phones on if it's necessary but if appreciate if they left me alone"

"I will Dan, take care okay?" Ash says pulling me in for a hug

"I will Ash, see you in a bit" I reply, grabbing my hat back and placing it on my head before taking out one of my cigs and walking to where my bike is.

Sometimes, all you want to know is that's you're not fucking crazy for feeling the way you're feeling, after having gone through all the bullshit that you've been through, maybe, just maybe, you deserve to feel this way.


	9. It is, and I'll give you one if you're not careful

"Well look who it is, I heard you got slapped by a teacher, bet you're used to getting hit all the time right, that black eye says a lot about you" Jaelene says walking up to me with her troop by her side.

"is your ass jealous of the amount of shit that just came out your mouth?" I question spinning on my heel to face her

"you think you're funny don't you, your just a waste of space to everyone here Dan," She says getting riled up quickly

"Jealousy is a disease Jaelene, I hope you get well soon," I say faking sympathy to her and waking off with a smug look on my face.

I've got my first game today and I'm not letting Jaelene stop me from being focused for it.

After I disappeared yesterday, it turned out someone in the class recorded the whole exchange with my teacher and sent it around the school where it eventually landed on the headmaster's desk and the teacher was fired.

I had to have a meeting today about my use of inappropriate language but I was let off relatively easily since they didn't want a lawsuit to be involved and I was more than happy to get out detention free and no Mick or Brittney needing to get involved.

I put a toothpick in-between my lips, I habit I've picked up trying to stop the smoking problem and I've found this seems to help for some reason. I walk through the corridors, looks from most students being sent my way as I smirk on, even though I'm fed up of all the looks and glances getting sent my way.

"what's up?" I say to the group taking a seat next to Mal in the student lounge where the group seems to hang now

"still the talk of the school I see," Tobin says as she looks around at all the other students whisper to their friends

"I don't get what there's to talk about still, they need to move on" I groan out not wanting the extra attention right now

"something new will pop up tomorrow and it will all be forgotten, gossip moves here as fast as boyfriends do, nothing sticks for long" Christens says full off sass

"damn Chris, that was brutal," I say letting out a few laughs

"How we feeling about tonight then ladies?" Carli asks the team moving the conversation on

"pretty good, these guys are easy right, we beat them like 4-0 last time," Ali says speaking up

"yeah but they've got that number 9 who basically just a bulldozer and will destroy you if she gets the chance," Julie says

"oh God do you remember when she ran straight at Rose and the look on her face was priceless" Mal says making everyone laugh except Rose who turns red

"that's was the scariest experience of my life, I thought was going to die," She says holding her hand to her chest.

I zone out of the conversation for a second and end up staring into space when I feel a hand on my knee

"you okay, you look a little out of it?" Kelley whispers quietly to me

"I'm good freckles, I promise," I say sending her a small smile

"erm could we have a chat later on today?" She asks me shyly

"of course, whatever you want to talk about I'm all ears" I say worried that somethings wrong but she sends me a thankful smile so hopefully all is okay

\- - - -

"There's a big crowd out there tonight ladies, and the school expects us to win," Carli says standing at the front with Becky by her side

"But we're not just going to win, we're going to out in a show for them, let everyone know why we're the best," Becky says after Carli getting us all riled up and ready to go.

"do your last minute stuff and then we'll head out to warm up ladies" Coach says and the room fills with chatter again

"am I your locker room buddy now that I've sat here," I say smirking to Kelley who's sitting next to me

"I guess it does, that means you can't change no matter what, we've got very strict rules for all the superstitions," She says looking at me seriously

"Good thing I don't want to change then" I reply and watch the blush rise up her cheeks like usual

"Freckles, do you mind doing my wrist tape, I always get someone else to do them before games," I ask turning to face Kelley

"I'm not good at tape but Alex is an expert, she'll be more than happy to do yours" Kelley smiles at me and I thank her quickly before finding Alex

"yo Morgan, Kelley said you're good at tape jobs, do you mind doing my wrists?" I ask Alex interrupting her conversation with Tobin

"Parker, can you not see I'm talking with Tobs," Alex says looking at me unimpressed

"yes but I need my tape doing"

"its fine Lex, I need to find Chris anyways," Tobin says laughing at us before walking off

"sit down before I change my mind" Alex sighs giving up as I hand her over my white tape

"Why do you even do this, you're not a keeper or anything," Alex asks as she wraps the stuff around my wrist

"because I like to write a message on the" I reply simply

"something my dad said before he left that day, I have it tattooed on my ribs actually," I tell her

"i haven't seen any of other tattoos except the ones on your arms and legs"

"Of course, here I'll show you it now," I say and lift up my shirt to show her my sides.

"Wow, this is beautiful," she says running her fingers lightly over the design and the words he said 'see you soon sweetie'

"yeah I got it last year, cost me a fortune but it's worth it," I say and smile as I pull my shirt back down.

"well you're all done now," She says and hands me my tape back

"Thanks Lex, see you on the pitch," I say and head to my bag and write the message out in sharpie

We head out onto the pitch and I instantly spot the number 9 they were all talking about and I now know why Rose was scared of her.

I take my seat on the bench next to Tobin while the starting eleven get into position. I look over at coach giving Ali some instructions when something clicks in my head

"Tobs, you used to run track right?" I say questioning the girl

"yeah but I quit when it started to clash with soccer," She says

"can you catch a football?" I ask her as well

"of course, I play with my brother all the time, why all the questions?" She asks me herself

"Lawson got kicked off the team and coach needs a new wide receiver and I thought of you" I tell Tobin

"I don't know Dan, I've never played properly just in the garden" She says seeming a little sceptical of this

"I can train with you, throw you endless balls until you're better but from how you play and move on the soccer field I don't think you'll have a problem" I say hoping to convince her

"If I'm rubbish and embarrass myself in front of everyone I will kill you" She says making me smile

"But that's a yes right?" I say hopefully

"Yes its a yes, I will try out for wide receiver" She sighs out making me cheer out while she just rolls her eyes at me

"Me and you on that field is going to be awesome!" I say excitedly

"Why do I already regret this" Tobin groans out next to me

The 60th minute of the game rolls around and coach signals for me to get warmed up quickly, I throw off my jacket and warm up down the sidelines waiting for the next ball to go out of play and my turn to get on that pitch.

And just like I'd hoped, the opposition kick the ball away and coach waves me over to him.

"I need you to stay by the number 9, keep her off your teammates okay, you protect them just like the boys do in football" He says to me, I nod my head in understatement wanting to prove myself to him and the school.

"Good luck Dan" Christen says high fiving me as I replace her l.

I jog up next to the famous number 9 and see her smirk, clearly thinking I'm fresh meat but she's got another thing coming if she thinks I'm not going to fight back.

Play resumes again and I move around, trying to make myself free for the throw and soon find the ball being sent to my feet. I'm about to kick it up the field when someone barges straight into me, sending me to the floor

"What the hell!" I shout out to the ref who seems to wave it off like it was nothing.

"This is going to be fun" The girl says smugly making me just scowl at her.

I'll show her some fun and maybe she'll learn to not mess with me next time.

The rest of the match I make sure she's always in my line of sight, and when I can, I put in a dirty tackle. Buts it's not until she slide tackles Kelley that I loose it

"What the fuck is wrong with you!" I shout out pushing her backwards

"Don't fucking touch me, I didn't even hit her" the girl says smirking to me which tells me she most definitely did

"You think I'm scared of you, look here" I say and pull down my collar so my shoulder is on show

"I-is that a bullet hole" she stutters out suddenly going white

"It is and I'll give you one too if your not careful" I whisper so the referee can't hear.

Once she walks of scared I turn around and run over to Kelley who's still on the floor getting help from the medics

"Freckles, you okay?" I ask looking at her concerned

"Yeah I'm fine, it's just bruised I think, what did you say to that girl she looks like she's seen a ghost" Kelley says glancing behind me

"Don't worry about it, she won't be bothering anyone anymore" I say and help walk Kelley off the pitch

"Dan, you take the free-kick," Carli says placing the ball in my hands as she walks off towards the box.

I put the ball in its spot and take a few steps back, assessing what's going on in front of me and wondering what would be the best course of action.

"what you thinking?" Alex asks as she stands next to me

"not sure, but the keeper seems to think I'm going to cross it and she's left the whole right side open," I say

"go for it then," Alex says shrugging her shoulders

"but what if I miss?" I ask not wanting to embarrass the team

"were 4-0 up Dan, it doesn't matter if you miss and you won't anyways," Alex says and jogs towards the box also.

I take a deep breath in and line up my shot, waiting for the whistle to be blown. And just as it is, I strike the ball on the side of my foot and watch it curl its way towards the top right corner.

I kiss my wrist and point it up to the sky while the team run towards me. Alex gets to me first and jumps into my arms as I hold her up.

"told you that you'd score!" She says cheering loudly.

"Okay you're officially the new free-kick taker," Pinoe says laughing with me.

I put Alex back down and glance into the stands where I spot Emelia cheering loudly with a group of friends by her side. I just point up towards her and send the younger girl a quick wink making her smile widely.

The match ends with us winning 5-0 over the other team and the number 9 didn't cause any problems after our 'little word' earlier in the game.

I'm changing into my clean clothes when I spot Kelley slightly limping towards me. I finish putting up my hair and grab my bags before turning to her.

"how's the ankle Freckles?" I ask concerned

"Just bruised, nothing that won't heal over time," She says smiling at me

"We can reschedule for another day Kel, I don't want you walking in pain" I say not wanting to hurt Kelley even more

"no I want to go out and I'll just get you to carry me if I need to," She says smirking

"oh is that right" I reply letting out a few laughs as I grab her bags off her and walk out to my bike.

I put our bags in the little back compartment and hop on, letting Kelley sit behind me and wrap her arms around my waist as I drive us off to the little cafe she like to go to.

I hop off an offer my hand out so she can lean on me more, taking some pressure off that ankle.

We walk in and sit in the booth we went the other day and I quickly order our drinks before turning my attention back to Kelley

"What did you need to talk to me about earlier today?" I ask

"oh it's nothing, don't worry about it," She says her cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

"you can tell me anything Kel, I won't judge" I say hoping she'll open up to me

"I just- why are you doing all this for me, taking me on dates, standing up for me on the field, going out of your way for me. You could get almost any girl in that school, I've seen the way they practically fling themselves at you but why do you want me?" Kelley asks and I feel my heart break at that

"because" I say trying to find the right words to say how I'm really feeling

"because you make me feel happy Kelley. The kind of happy I haven't felt since my mom died" I tell her honestly, a wave of sadness passing over me as I think about my mom

"well I'll continue to make you happy for as long as you want me around for," Kelley says lacing her fingers into one and smiling up at me.

"That's going to be for a very long time then freckles" I wink at her and watch as she blushes again.

As the night goes on I can't help but think about whether it's too dangerous for me to be around Kelley, with all his investigating I'm doing over my dad's murder I could be putting her in danger. Alex is already at risk since I've told her and gotten her involved, I don't know if I could live with myself if something happened to Kelley because of me.


	10. Are you telling me that he has murdered over half a dozen people?

A couple of weeks pass by and I find myself walking through the school halls yet again, the same people staring at me like usual.

The bruising on my face is completely healed by now and I've only got a small scar on my eyebrow, Alex says it adds to my 'badass' look which I have to agree with.

I walk into the student lounge again and jump on top of Tobin hearing a huff coming from her lips

"Seriously dude?" she says seeming unimpressed

"What? Still meeting you by the lockers at the end of the day right" I ask Tobin

"Yeah, I'll see you then" She says nodding her head.

I dragged Tobin to football training and it turns out she's a natural, running circles around everyone and our connection on the field seems to be just as good as the one on the pitch too.

"Here comes Satan" Ali mumbles out and I groan loudly knowing full well who's coming up behind me.

"What do you want Jaelene I'm not in the mood for your shit today" I say standing up to face the bitch

"I heard some rumours that you slept with Trisha at the weekend, according to her you went at it for hours," Jaelene says smugly making me just roll my eyes knowing full well Trisha is part of her crew.

"Oh, you're spreading rumours about me now? It's nice to know you have a hobby of spreading other things than just your legs" I say and hear Ash choke on her drink behind me.

"you're just jealous of my boyfriend and the fact I can get a guy, you only attract desperate lesbians who think being gay is normal," She says trying to think of a comeback.

"Lawson? Bitch please, I don't want your boyfriend. Nobody does, that's why he's with you" I reply back and watch as a few of her minions try to hide the laughs.

I know she's stumped for something to say back because her mouth keeps opening and closing like a fish but I wasn't expecting her to throw her drink at my face.

"Are you fuckin kidding me! What are we in glee or something" I say wiping the smoothie off my face.

I go to charge at her but Ash and Tobin pull me back before I can start a fight with her.

"Have a nice day Dan" Jaelene says before skipping off.

"This was a new t-shirt as well," I say scooping all the remains into the bin.

I storm off angrily and head to my locker to get the spare clothes I brought for tonight's training, I slam the locker shut, scaring plenty of freshmen in the process and walk towards my spot behind the school.

I strip off my top and throw it in the bin, putting my new one on and taking out a cigarette to smoke. I inhale the toxic fumes for a few minutes until Kelley comes out and finds me, taking the cigarette and throwing it to the floor

"hey!" I say angrily

"you're going to kill yourself if you carry on," She says and sure down next to me, both of us not saying anything for a few minutes

"you know what she was saying about me and Trisha isn't true, I don't even know the girl, well I do actually we have sport together but I don't talk to her ever-" I say starting to ramble a bit

"Dan, chill," Kelley says laughing at my flustered state

"I know you didn't do any of that, you were out with me at the weekend," she says as my face morphs into one of realisation

"oh yeah" I chuckle out.

"I think you won the argument today anyways, you've been getting better," Kelley says making me smirk

"I do try, throwing something at me was a low blow though," I say rolling my eyes

"that's just because she can't think of anything good to say back" Kelley retorts

"the spreading the legs one was definitely my favourite" I say and laugh to myself

"Alright, no need to make that head any bigger than it already is, you've got Portuguese class to be getting to," Kelley says pulling me off the ledge and back into the school.

I need to make this girl my girlfriend soon.

\- - - -

"I'll catch you later Tobs, good practice," I say as I walk out of practice with her and Servando

"Catch you later guys," She says and heads off to her car

"After that practice I'm feeling ready for our first game back," Serv says as he walks with me through the parking lot

"Me too, I can't wait to get out on that field and play against another school finally, I'm sick of beating all your asses in training," I say cockily and smirk at the boy who just rolls his eyes at my usual behaviour.

"Have you got a ride home, I didn't see your bike in the car park today?" Serv says to me

"Yeah, Morgan is picking me up," I say and point to the car a couple of meters in front of us

"Dan can you hurry up and get in my car plea- oh h-hey Servando" Alex stutters out as she steps out of her car and realises I'm walking with her crush

"Hey Alex, how are you doing today," Serv says trying to act all cool but I can tell he's panicking inside

"I'm good thank you, just here to pick up Dan from practice," She says fiddling with the hem of her top.

"I'll see you tomorrow Serv, I've gotta get back home," I say turning to the boy and doing our handshake

"Yeah no problem, I'll see you later Dan, and you too Alex" He replies, heading in the direction of his car.

"you didn't tell me you were walking out with Servando!" Alex exclaims hitting my arm as we get into her car

"First of all, ow. And secondly, we just happened to leave training at the same time okay, chill out" I say in my own defence.

"Why does it matter anyway?" I say knowing the answer already from what Kelley told me on our first date but I want to hear it from Alex first

"Ugh, because I've liked the guys since like freshman year," She says rolling her eyes and trying to play it off like its nothing

"I know that already, Kelley told me I just wanted to hear you say it" I tell her laughing as she just looks at me with her mouth open.

"That's just mean, you can bet your ass this is the last time I'm picking you up from practice Parker," Alex says as she starts to drive off

"Come on! You've got to admit it was a little funny" I say still chuckling at the look on her face

"Do I look like a person who finds this funny?" She says turning to give me a stone-cold look

I let Alex stay angry for the rest of the ride back to her place while I just chuckle to myself, excited to tell Kelley about it tomorrow. Alex parks her car in the driveway and I follow her into her house.

"Hey sweetie, how was practice," Pam says taking my bags off me and pulling me into a hug

"It was good thanks Pam, feeling ready for the game this weekend," I say

"That's good, I'll make sure I'm there to cheer you on in the crowd," She says to me

"You've got work on Saturday though Pam, I don't want you to mess up your schedule or something just for one of my games," I say feeling bad that she's going out of her way to see me play

"Nonsense, this is your first game and I don't want to miss it," She tells me and walks off with my bags, probably going to wash my dirty clothes like she always does.

"Dan and I are going to do our homework so please don't come in" Alex shouts to her mother before dragging me up to her room

"I don't have any homework Alex," I say confused as to why she's locking her door and telling her mom that

"Neither do I but I need to make sure my mom doesn't come in my room unexpectedly and sees what we're doing," She says still not making much sense

"I'm still lost Morgan," I say honestly just as she pulls a huge box from under her bed.

"This here is all your information and evidence you've collected that I took a copy of plus some extra things I've been doing," She says and takes off the lid, placing everything out around her room and moving her wardrobe to one side to reveal her wall with 'Darren Parker Murder Investigation' written at the top

"Wow, we're really doing this then," I say in a little shock not realising how seriously Alex would take this

"I said to you on the day you told us everything I was going to help you until we figured it out even if it meant I missed graduation and I don't go back on my word," She say making a small smile spread across my lips.

"Let's do this then!" I say excitedly, ready to hopefully get closer to the truth

"First of all, who are our main suspects," Alex says grabbing a pen

"Obviously, Brittney and Mick to start with," I say and watch as Alex grabs a picture of them both and sticks it to the wall writing 'main supsect' at the top of it

"There's also this other guy but I hardly know anything about him just that he's definitely a businessman," I say and grab a question mark putting it next to my step-parents and writing businessman underneath it.

"Okay we need to put down the relations they have to your dad," Alex says

"Well Brittney was married to my dad after a year of dating, it moved very quickly and then he was murdered on heir honeymoon" I start to explain

"What about Mick, did they ever meet?" Alex asks

"Not that I've found out but he came onto the scene 2 months after dad and I know that they were already a thing beforehand, the way they were together just told me that they had been that way they were for a while," I say as Alex writes this all down

"Mick is a bit of a mystery, I know he does deals with lots of people, there's always different men coming in and out of our house and I know theres a main guy he works for because I saw this letter signed by Camden Hackley which I have no clue what it means" I tell Alex and pick up a few things like a photo of the letter I took to stick on the wall too.

"I don't think Brittney knows much about what he does at all, Mick is a lot cleverer than he let's on and I think that's his advantage" I inform Alex who hums in agreement. I route through the papers over the room and find what I'm looking for

"These here are all receipts and transcripts that I've collected from all the different towns we've moved from that pinpoint Mick to be in the are that a murder has happened," I say and place everything on the wall

"Are you telling me that he has murdered over half a dozen people?" Alex says in shock as we look on at the newspaper articles the murders were published in

"I am, just looking at this one for example, at 10:16 p.m. on 22nd May 2006 he went to an off-licence and bought rubber gloves, three bottles of bleach and tarp. Who buys that if you're not trying to clean up a murder! And what do you know, the newspaper says that the police suspected the man to have died at around midnight the same day" I say pointing to all the clues that link him to it

"Why have you not gone to the police, you have evidence that clearly ties him to 6 murders Dan, 6 murders and you're living in the same bloody house as the man" Alex exclaims turning to me

"I know Alex but every time they catch someone else. I went in one time saying they had the wrong guys and they practically kicked me out the precinct, they don't want to know about it" I say letting out a sigh.

"What about all of these photos, where do they come into this all," She says pulling out a bunch of photos I took when I followed Mick

"I spent about 3 months following Mick whenever he went out late at night and snapped these pictures, he did hundreds of drug and weapon handoffs to multiple different people and he was always the one in charge but I know he was getting orders from Camden Hackley," I say and place them under the Mystery man

"There's no evidence anywhere of who or what this Camden Hackley is?" Alex says staring at what we've got up on the board

"Nothing anywhere, they've covered their tracks very well" I reply

"One thing I'm confused about is how your dad is linked in with all of this, he wasn't dirty right?" Alex asks me

"God no, he was the kindest man ever, wouldn't hurt a fly. He was a scientist and worked for AIM, the American Institute for Science down in New York and he was part of the team that were trying to create new and improved drugs. He didn't talk much about his work, it was all very classified stuff but when mom dies he would just emerge himself it in all, spend longer hours in the lab, take work home; I always wondered if he found something out he wasn't supposed to" I tell Alex, remembering everything I haven't talked about in years

"maybe he was getting close to something and someone didn't one him knowing about it so they sent Brittney to find out what he knew" Alex questions

"That's what I thought too but all his work colleagues had nothing sketchy about them, I trailed all 4 of them for 2 months after dad was murdered and nothing out of the ordinary came up" I say and let Alex write it on the board anyways, a big question mark next to it.

"My eyes keep on drifting back to Camden Hackley, it sounds familiar and I don't know why," Alex says the two of us sit on the bed just staring at the two words until she gasps and starts getting up routing through the papers

"I can't believe it didn't click earlier, it makes sense now and you wouldn't have figured it out since you've only been in this town for over a month but I've lived here my whole life" Alex rants out, still looking for something

"You're doing the thing where you just talk but don't explain" I say wanting to know what she knows

"Where in this town also has the name Camden," She says stopping what she's doing to look up at me

"I don't know Alex, can you- oh shit, Camden Forest where I took Kelley on our first date!" I say clicking on as she pulls out a printed picture of the forest entrance.

"It makes sense right! Camden Hackley is clearly a code name for somewhere in this town, Camden Forset is a famous landmark I just don't know where 'Hackley' comes into it all" Alex says adding it to the murder board

"It's a start though, further than what we had to begin with," I say

"But who do we know that knows everything about this town and its history," Alex says and I know who she's getting at

"No Alex, I'm not getting her involved in this. you're helping me already with this and that's one more person than I wanted, I'm not adding Kelley to the list" I say putting my foot down hard on this matter

"You're right, Kelley doesn't need to get involved in this too we'll just have to do our own research," Alex says agreeing with me.

This whole thing is a mess really but I need to know what happened to my dad and maybe I can finally move on with my life.


	11. I thought you guys hated us?

"Does Kelley know what you've got planned?" Alex says as she drops me off at the school for my first game

"Nope not at all, that's why you're going to give her my Jersey and makes sure she wears it" I say to her

"You know she's going to refuse and turn the same colour at my car" Alex says referring to her red number

"I know but it's tradition here apparently and there's only one girl I want having my number on her back" I tell Alex

"I just threw up at that, but I'll make sure she wears it" Alex says rolling her eyes

"Thanks Morgan you're the best, I'll see you out there later" I reply smiling and running off towards the locker room

I head to the girls locker room first where Tobin is already there, getting changed herself.

"What's up Tobs, ready for today" I ask my friends getting my gear out my locker

"Pretty nervous not going to lie, everyone here knows me for soccer not football" She says putting on her shoulder pads

"You'll be great I promise" I say patting the number 17 on the back

Once we're all geared up and helmets in hands we walk to the boys locker room where coach is giving his talk.

"We're going to get a lot of looks today, we've got two girls on our team and a lot of people won't like it but we shut them up by winning," Coach tells us all

"we're a team out there, we have each other back no matter what," He says as the room fills with loud cheers.

"get out on that pitch and warm-up," He says patting everyone's shoulders as they leave.

I grab a ball and start throwing it to Serv, trying to warm up my arm for today's game.

"you ready Dan?" Serv asks catching on of my spirals

"can't wait," I say happily as see as he chuckles at my lack of nervousness.

"erm Dan you might want to check in your girl, it seems like Jaelene has seen what's she wearing," Serv says pointing to the crowd where Jaelene seems to be talking to Kelley and not in a friendly way

"pass us a ball," I say to Serv and wait until he throws me it back before watching the pair.

After I've had enough of Jaelene harassing my girl I throw the ball right at her and successfully hit her on the back of the head.

"what the hell! Who threw that!" She screeches out spinning around in her cheerleading uniform to look at all of us

"My bad Jaelene, just warming up my arm, I didn't see you there," I say sarcastically and watch as she scoffs before walking off and leaving Kelley alone finally

I send her a cheeky wink and I can tell from all the way back here that she's most definitely blushing. Just as I'm about to turn back I spot all the girls and Pam walking up to Kelley, the whole team have turned up to watch mine and Tobin's first game.

"yo Tobs, did you know the team where coming?" I shout across the girls pointing to where they are sitting

"no ideas, Chris said she was but that's all I knew" She replies and I just smile to myself happily.

"Guess who's also turned up," Zach says pointing to the stands again.

I spot Lawson and the other two guys that coach kicked off the team when he made me quarterback all giving us daggers from across the field

"ignore them guys, we don't need their sorry asses to win us the game today," I say trying to get my team to forget about them and focus on the game.

The game kicks off and it's a tough one, I've been hit a couple of times and the other team like to let me know that I'm a girl when they do. I brush it off but I can tell the boys are taking it very personally

"We need to try something new, they're reading us like an open book" I pant out taking my helmet off as we huddle in a circle.

"Why don't we try the Statue of Liberty?" I ask the boys and get a few raised everybody at the suggestion.

"I know we've never tried it but we all know the play right. I make a short drop-back and fake that I'm going to throw the ball by bringing the ball over my head. Instead, I'll fake a throw, then hands the ball to Zach with the other hand. Meanwhile, Zach will move directly behind me, acting as if he's going to stay in to block and take the ball and run with it, Tobin will be at the other end in case we need to switch plays" I say explaining now the Statue of Liberty plays worst to those who are unsure.

"Sounds good to me, right boys," Serv says backing me up.

"I'm down," Zach says and everyone else agrees.

"What's the plan Parker" I hear coach say in my earpiece

"We're doing the Statue of Liberty, I know we haven't practised but we need to switch it up a little" I say hoping coach will agree

"This better work Parker" He mumbles in my ear.

"let's do the Statue of Liberty then boys" I say and put my helmet back on with a smirk.

We get into position and I wait for my centre to get I to his position. I lean down and shout 'hut' soon receiving a ball in my hands. I stand up quickly and fake throw to Tobin out on the right side before I feel Zach take the ball from behind my head.

The other team still think that I'm throwing it to the other side letting Zach take off down the left. I follow behind getting ready to block and players I need and give Zach a clear route to the end zone.

He's not going to make it to the end and I think he knows that because he hands the ball off to me and I throw the ball straight to Tobin without even looking up. I'm tackled to the ground but by the some of the loud cheers I know that's she's caught it and we're ahead.

"lets fucking go!" Serv says hitting my helmet as we run over to celebrate with Tobin.

I watch as Tobin points up to Christen in the crowd making plenty of girls jealous in the process and we run back where coach grabs my pads

"don't ever do that again, hear me" Coach says angrily, pulling in my helmet

"yes coach" I reply

"but that was bloody good Parker" He smirks and pushes me back on the pitch as I run off shaking my head.

\- - - -

"You guys take longer than us and we're girls" I shout to the boys in the locker room who are still getting changed while Tobin and I have been ready for a while

"well you're the one who decided to spring on us all that we're going out with your team, we've got to look good for the ladies" Charlie, our centre says

"I thought you guys hated us?" Tobin says confused

"that's just Jaelene and the cheerleaders, we like you guys but we've got to sit with her, tradition and all that" Brett, our tight end tells us.

"Just tell the team that cause everyone thinks you guys hate the soccer team," I say as we all head out into the car park where we split off to head to the dinner down the road.

I walk towards Alex since she waited to give me a lift there and see Pam and Emelia standing with her.

"Hey guys, what did you think of the game," I say and hug Emelia as I look up at the other two

"you played amazing sweetie, I was very impressed with how far you could throw," Pam says seeming to be in genuine shock

"that's kind of my job Pam," I say jokingly to her

"alright you just because I'm old and don't know much about football," She says and smiles before hugging me too.

"that trick play was awesome!" Em tells me

"yeah coach wasn't too happy about that one but it worked out in the end," I say

"well you two go and have fun tonight, text me when you get home please Dan," Pam says kissing my head

"I will do Pam, thank you for coming tonight it really does mean a lot," I say, thankful that she turned up

"I'll be there at as many as I can," She says and she and Emelia get into her car to drive home while I hope into Alexs

"It was so confusing to follow but also very interesting," Alex says making me laugh

"maybe you can ask Serv for some lesson in it," I say smirking at her while she just rolls her eyes

We drive to the diner and see most the team are already inside and have managed to grab a huge table for us all. I walk in with Alex and notice two seats free next to Kelley and Serv, I quickly rush forward getting the one next to Kelley so Alex is forced to sit down next to her crush.

"Hello to you too," Kelley says giggling since I practically jumped onto it

"Hey Freckles, did you enjoy the game," I ask the girl

"it was really good actually, that statue of liberty play was a really smart move," She says catching me off guard

"I've got 5 older boys in my home, they talk about a lot of football," She says clearing noticing my confused expression.

"makes sense, did Jaelene bother you after I hit her?" I ask Kelley hoping she was left alone

"no she didn't bother, gave me a few dirty looks bit after you hit her in the head she didn't come close" Kelley's says making me smile

"good, I told her to not bother you my first day here, she clearly has forgotten about that," I say and watch as Kelley blushes a little.

We order food soon after and it turns out both teams seem to get on great, Alex and Serv continued to helplessly notice that the other person liked them and it turns out Julie and Zach like to flirt, a lot. We pay the bill and head out when Kelley turns to me.

"Julie has already gone and she took Zach but she was my ride home," Kelley says

"hey no problem, I'll just take you home, it works out great anyway," I say to her

"Alex!" I shout out since she's still talking with Serv

"what do you want," She asked not seeming impressed with me

"I need the keys" I shout back and wait for her to throw them to me

"I'm taking Kelley home, get a lift off Serv" I says and quickly jump in with Kelley before she can protest

"she's going to kill you later you know that right?" Kelley says laughing at me as we pull out the car park

"she'll be thanking me, we've just got her and Serv together after what seems like forever them trying to flirt with the other," I say

I drive Kelley home and only notice on the way back that she's still wearing my jersey, the name Parker and number 2 on the back just like my soccer kit too. I park outside her home and get out my side opening the door for her.

"thanks for coming to support me tonight freckles, you look good in my top" I say as Kelley blushes

"I had a lot of fun actually and I kind of like it" She says pulling on the bottom of it.

We stand there for a second both of us staring into the eyes of the other until I see Kelley glance down at my lips and that's all it takes for me to grab her waist and pull her closer, my lips connecting with hers.

It's not rushed or sexual, both of us just feeling the love the other one is giving off. We pull away after a few seconds not wanting to start making out in the middle of the road. I can tell Kelley doesn't know what to say so I kiss her cheek gently and head back round to my side

"I'll see you at school Freckles," I say before heading off back home.

I can't seem to lose the smile on my face as my mind replays the kiss I just had a couple of minutes ago with the girl I've been practically obsessed with since I came here.

However, the smile soon drops when I come down my road and see Mick walking out of the house checking the road for anyone and heading across the street.

I quickly get my phone out of my pocket and call Alex.

"I can't believe-" Alex starts to say but I cut her off

"not right now Alex, Mick has just left my house looking very suspicious, I'm following behind him," I say down the phone my eyes never leaving Mick

"I'll be there in a second" Alex says before hanging up the phone.

5 minutes later the car door opens and Alex climbs in panting loudly next to me

"have you seriously just ran here?" I say in disbelief

"I only live around the corner and I'm not letting you do this alone," She says.

Where the hell are you going Mick


	12. I've got no one left, I'm just done

"don't get too close he's going to see us!" Alex whisper shouts as we follow behind Mick in her car, all my car lights off.

"Alex, I'm right by the curb, he's literally 100 metres in front of us and I'm driving like 1 mile an hour were good," I say trying to calm down the girl next to me

"you seem to be forgetting that this guy has killed half dozen people Dan" Alex replies with, I'm about to respond when we watch Mick walk into an old building.

"let's go," I say to Alex climbing out my car and following behind him.

We crouch down as we get closer to the building, going around the side to see if there's a window we can see through and watch what Mick could be doing

"look, there's a broken window there" Alex whispers pointing ahead of us. I follow behind her as we both peer over the ledge trying to get a better look.

"You're lucky I wasn't doing anything, why did we need to meet so urgently," Mick says unhappily to the two other guys he's talking to

"boss is moving forward the delivery date, we need to get it ready in time by then," One of the guys says

"How early are we talking," Mick asks and I glance at Alex who has the same confused expression on her face that I do

"12 weeks time, and it has to be the full order too," the other one says causing Mick to groan

"he better be paying me more for this, we're just going to have to work more hours to get it done in time" Mick replies.

"We should get out of here before they leave" I whisper to Alex who nods her head in agreement. We start walking away when Alex accidentally kicks a glass bottle to the side.

We both freeze in place, shit.

"what the hell was that?" I hear one of the guys inside say.

I grab Alex's hand and run back towards her car, quickly opening the trunk and climbing in with her. She goes to say something but I shake my head and put my hand over her mouth.

"Check that car, it wasn't there before" We hear someone say causing me to hold my breath

I feel Alex's hold on my top get tighter and I know she's scared, just as much as I am but I need to be strong right now for her.

"There's no one in here boss" one of the guys says and I can see the reflection of the flashlight through the gaps of the trunk

"search the area if there was someone here they can't have gotten far" Mick says and we wait until we can't hear anymore footsteps before getting out the trunk and driving straight off.

I don't think either one of us knows what to say, I mean what would happen if we had gotten caught?

"I'm so sorry Alex I should never have called you, this is too dangerous for anyone to get involved," I say feeling horrible for what I've just put Alex through

"no you don't get to do that Dan, I chose to come with you it's my choice to put myself in danger," She says turning to look at me sternly

"I think we both need some sleep and we'll talk about it later," She says as I pull up outside her house and park her car in the driveway

"Okay, I'll catch you on Monday then Alex," I say hugging the girl a little longer than usual, glad no one was hurt.

I run off back home, wanting to get there before Mick does and I make it just in time for him to follow in behind me a couple of minutes later. I stay outside my room wanting to listen in just in case something happens and I like I suspected he goes straight to call someone.

"Yes boss, I got your message. it will all be ready in 12 weeks. I won't let you down. Okay, thank you, sir" Mick says before hanging up the phone and throwing something across the room in anger.

I carefully slip back into my room, making sure to not make a single noise and climb straight into bed, clothes still on since I'm not risking making any more noise.

I've got to be more careful around Mick now, he's going to be very suspicious of everything and I can't afford to slip up otherwise I'm dead meat.

I send Pam a quick message letting her know I'm home and shut my eyes, falling asleep quickly after the long day.

\- - - -

Monday rolls and I find myself sitting in class with Ash and Tobin, waiting for the teacher to arrive and start the lesson.

"if it isn't the infamous Dan, start quarterback, of the school" Jaelene says strutting towards me wanting to cause more drama as per usual

"do you feel threatened that your title of miss popular might be taken off you?" I say faking a sympathetic face as I talk to her.

At this point the whole class is listening in, which tends to happen whenever the two of us start talking because everyone knows that's something is going to be said

"Yeah, like I'd be scared of a girl who's parents are both dead," She says crossing her arms over her smugly as I grit my teeth together in anger

"oh I forget people don't know. Her mommy and daddy are dead and she's lives with her stepmom and boyfriend, how tragic is that" She says getting a few laughs from girls who want lick her ass in this class.

"you say one more thing about my parent's and I'll end you right here, don't push me Jaelene" I say, and you can practically hear the venom in my voice as I stand up in front of her.

"what are you going to, cry to mommy" She smirks out and I lose it there and then.

I lunge forward at her, grabbing her shirt and throwing her to the floor, I try to get a punch in but Ash is too quick and she grabs my arm pulling me back away from her.

"you're fucking dead to me Jaelene, I'm going to end you!" I scream out at her in anger not believing she's low enough to bring them into it.

She tries to get up but Ash pushes her back to the floor just as a teacher walks in to see it all happening.

"you two, principles office, now," He says and points at Ash and I.

I huff my way out of Ash's arms and storm out of that lesson, kicking the locker as I walk past it. Ash doesn't say anything like she did last time I got angry she just lets me kick the crap out of the metal door until I'm done.

I stop after a while and walk alongside  
Ash to Mr Davis office, wondering what my punishment is going to be this time.

"let me do the talking, just sit and try not to burst out," Ash says before we go in

She knocks on his door and we hear a faint 'come in' so I follow behind Ash and sit down in an empty seat across his desk.

"I'm not happy, not happy at all. Why am I getting a call from your professor telling me that two of his students were beating up another before he got to class, we are one of the top schools on the state and you two think it's acceptable to be hitting other students!" He shouts at us as I just slump in his chair, an unbothered expression on my face

"you better sit up little girl, show some respect," He says to me and I lose it again, what is it with fucking men thinking that little girl is an acceptable way to talk to someone!

I know Ash told me to not burst out and let her do the talking but being called 'little girl' again just does it for me

"I'm not a fucking little girl. I'm an adult I can make my own choices and have my own fucking feelings. I'm sorry for lashing out, I'm sorry for being angry at another student who mentioned my dead parents in a disrespectful way, I'm sorry if my natural human instinct is to get angry over the situation because you know what, I am fucking angry. I lost my mom to cancer when I was 11, 11 fucking years old I had to watch my mom slowly die in the hospital while I did nothing. And then my dad went and died 4 years later with no explanation leaving me with a stepmom I fucking despise and her shitty boyfriend to live with. I'm tired sir, I'm so fucking tired of always being pushed to one side and letting everything just roll off me, nobody cares about me and doesn't even try and give me some bullshit response like you care about every student cause you don't. I'm done talking to you, give me whatever punishment you want but leave Ash out she's done nothing. I'll be back by the end of the day, I can't talk to you right now."

I finish my little outrage and proceed to walk out his office, I don't hear him trying to stop me so I don't bother looking back instead I head towards the gym and grabbing the bats Ash left hidden after last time.

Walking up to them, I grab out one at a time and smash them as hard as I can and before I know it I've gone through all 8 of them, leaving me out of breath and walking up to the top of the bleachers to cool down.

I don't know how long I've been sitting here for just staring into space, my mind completely blank for once yet it feels like so much is going on at the same time.

I can feel someone sitting down next to me and don't need to look to know it's Kelley I can smell the vanilla perfume she always wears and it sets me off.

Not like earlier where my mind was full of rage and I couldn't think clearly, but sadness, I just want to curl up in a ball and cry for hours while my mom strokes my hair telling me everything is going to be okay, but that's just the thing, it's not going to be okay because she's not here.

"ssh, you're okay Dan, I've got you I promise" Kelley whispers as she holds onto me tightly while I just cry into her arms, something I haven't done in years.

\- - - -

"do you want to talk about it?" Alex asks as we lie in bed together.

I couldn't go back home tonight, I didn't know if I would lash out on Mick or Brittney and I couldn't let them know what I knew about their whole operation so I came to Alex's after walking around town for a couple of hours

"I'm done Alex" I say to her emotionless

"what do you mean done, don't talk like that" Alex says sitting up in shock

"I mean what's the fucking point Lex, my parents are both dead, I've got no one left, I'm just done," I say my face or voice lacking any emotion as I just stare up at the ceiling.

"Why don't I just kill myself too, I mean what's even the point of me being alive, I live the shittiest life going I hardly see much reason to carry on being here" I carry on saying

"Please don't say that Dan, I know you don't mean it, you've got plenty of people here that love you; me, Kelley, my mom, Emelia, we all care about you so much so please don't kill yourself" Alex pleads out to me, tears running down her face

"I don't know how to carry on living like this though Alex, all I do is carry on through life knowing that my mother died of cancer and my dad was murdered," I say trying not to cry myself now

"I don't know Dan but you need to find some closure, have you been to visit their graves?" She asks me

"not, since both of their funerals, they got buried in mom's home town and it was too far to visit" I reply

"maybe we should go sometime, let you talk to them and tell them everything you want, I know it helped me when my grandma passed away," Alex tells me

"maybe I will" I sigh out, still feeling in the shitty mood I've been in all day.


	13. I'm going to figure out what happened to you dad

A couple of weeks after my outbursts in school and with Kelley and Alex, things have calmed down a little. Pam found out about it all and has been making me go see a therapist about it, saying that I never had the chance to get all my emotions out when it happened.

I get a lot of sympathetic looks from students around school since everyone now knows I've got dead parents. The boys were not happy when they found out but I managed to stop them doing something that would get them in trouble with coach.

Mr Davis gave me detention for a week, I think my rant to him may have lessened my sentence probably because I played the dead parents cared and he felt harsh, he should've.

Alex always makes sure to check up on me if I've been MIA for a couple of hours scared that I'm going to do what we talked about that night but I'm not in that headspace anymore.

I'm sitting in the car right now with Alex as she drives me to my parent's gravestone, my therapist also thought it would be good for me to talk to them even though it's just a piece of stone, it's not like they're in there but I'll give it ago.

"here we are, do you want me to wait in the car," Alex asks as we pull up outside the huge black gates

"Please, I won't be too long," I say and hop out my side, taking a deep breath in of the all too familiar setting I'm looking at.

I follow the path to where I know my parent are buried and awkwardly sit down in front of their tombstones wondering what the hell I'm meant to say.

"I don't really know what I'm supposed to say so I guess I'll start with, hey guys?" I say as more of a question

"I'm 17 now if you didn't know already, in my Junior in high school, my third one of the year actually but I think I'll be sticking around at this one for a while. Schools alright I guess, I'm on the soccer and football team which can be a bit much sometimes but I love both of my teammates to death, they really are like family" I say and glance to the car waiting for me

"I'm trying hard mom, I'm trying to stay as positive as you did, always thinking of what's going good in my life but it's really hard to do that right now, I just want to crawl into a ball and stay there for eternity. I don't have the same energy you did, even when you knew you were dying." I say and my fingers hover over the engraved name on the stone.

"and dad I'm doing everything in my power to find out what really happened to you, I know if your where here right now that you'd tell me to not bother because it's too dangerous but I can't carry on with life not knowing the truth, it's eating me up." I tell the imaginary people

"I love you guys I really do and I wish more than anything in the world that I still had you by my side but for whatever reason, it wasn't meant to be," I say and wipe the stray tear falling from my eyes

"I better get going, my friends waiting for me, I think you'd like her a lot of mom, she's got the same kind soul you did. Alright by guys, love you both" I say and stand up walking back to Alex's car.

"Everything okay?" Alex asks as I buckle myself in

"Yeah, thanks for driving Alex," I said smiling to the girl I've grown to love like a sister over these months

"my pleasure" She says smiling back as she turns the radio on for the drive home.

I'm going to figure out what happened to you dad, even if it's the last thing I do.

\- - - -

"You ready to do this?" Alex asks me as I stand in the locker room after our last game

"No, yes, maybe, I don't know" I say my hands shaking a little

"Is Dan Parker finally nervous over something" She says gasping sarcastically

"Of course not! I'm not nervous, why would I be nervous" I say, clearly nervous

"You better figure it out cause she's coming now" Alex says smirking at me still pointing to Kelley walking down the corridor with Ash by her side.

You see after the team found out about our kiss and how we're not official yet they've been teasing us none stop, so right now I'm currently getting ready to ask Kelley to finally be my girlfriend.

"Why is everyone looking at me to weirdly, what's going on?" Kelley ask confused as she steps into the locker room.

"Freckles" I say grabbing her attention. She spins around to face me still looking confused as to what's going on

"When I first came to this town I didn't think anything of it, it was just another place that I was being dragged to because of Mick but it all changed when I went into my first class." I say grabbing Kelley's hands in mine as she looks me in the eyes

"I walked in thinking god help me, I can't think of anywhere worse to be but then I looked up and saw your freckled face and hazel eyes across the room and I knew you where something special there and then." I tell Kelley, a blush rising up her cheeks

"I've gotten to know you better over these last couple of months and I can't help but fall for you harder everyday so, after a little meddling from our friends, I want to know if you'd be my girlfriend Kelley O'Hara?" I ask Kelley hoping she doesn't embarrass me right now

"I would love to be" She says smiling up at me while the blush rises up her face more.

I huge grin sets on my lips and I pull her closer closing the distance between our lips as we hear all our friends cheer loudly in the background for us.

"Ash that was way better than you're proposal to me" Ali says turning to her girlfriend getting a laugh out of the room.

"Just don't leave" She whispers in my ear as we hug

"I don't plan on going anywhere Freckles" I say kissing her

I have a huge smile on my face while we all get changed after our game and I keep stealing glances at my new girlfriend not getting tired of calling her that just yet.

All of a sudden Alex turns to me looking a little panicked.

"Emelia just text saying mom rushed out the house saying that her lawyer called and it was an emergency, she said mom looked pretty panicked" Alex tells me getting herself worked up

"Hey it's okay, why don't we head to your house and speak to your sister and then go from there, I'm sure there's a perfect explanation for it all" I say to Alex hoping to settle her nerves before she gives herself a panick attack

"Good game today guys, we'll catch you all tomorrow" I say to the team and run over to Kelley quickly kissing her lips before heading back out to Alex's car

I decide to drive us home since Alex seems pretty distracted right now and definitely not thinking straight enough to be driving a vehicle. As soon as we park the car she jumps straight out and into the house where Emelia is sitting down at the kitchen counter

"Em what's going on with mom, why did she just leave like that" Alex asks her sister

"I don't know Lex, she was fine one minute and then she got a call and she rushed out saying it was her lawyer and to order food in for dinner" Emelia explains seeming just as frantic as her sister

"Okay how about both of you take a second to breathe, your mom is with her lawyer clearly working things through with the divorce, for now why don't we help her out when she comes home. Tidy the place up, cook her favourite meal?" I ask the sisters hoping it will distract them a little

"Okay yeah that sounds good, mom loves Chicken Alfredo" Alex says making me smile

"Perfect, that's like my speciality so why don't I cook that for all of us and you two start cleaning around the house" I say and see the pair nod while I head to the fridge getting all the ingredients I need to make Pams favourite meal apparently.

It doesn't take me long to get the meal together and I soon help the siblings out in reorganising the house a little. With Pam being a nurse and working late shifts as well as this whole divorce situation happening, she hasn't had much of a chance to catch a break.

A couple of hours go by and we finally think we've got the house back to some normality, we all crash onto the couch not realising how exhausting cleaning could be

"I don't think I've ever been his tired after a game" Alex says as she sprawls herself across my body

"Me neither and I had soccer and football practice on the same day once" I say causing the two Morgan siblings to chuckle.

Just as Emelia is about to say something we hear keys outside the front door start to jingle and watch as Pam walks in a huge smile on her face

"Mom!" Alex and Emelia shout leaping up out their seat to hug her

"Not that I don't love your hugs but what is this for" She says once her two daughters let go

"We were worried mom, you ran out the house looking really panicked and we thought something bad had happened" Emelia explains

"And I said there was nothing to worry about" I say butting into the conversation and walking over to give Pam a hug myself.

"I'm fine girls, the lawyer called about the divorce case with your dad-"

"Michael" Alex say cutting off her mother

"Michael, and told me the some really good news" Pam says excitedly a huge smile on his face

"What is it!" Emilia shouts asking the million dollar question we're all thinking

"Well it turns out- wait is that Chicken Alfredo I smell?" Pam asks stopping mid sentence all of a sudden.

"Oh yeah, well while you were out Dan has the great idea of helping you out a little so we made your favourite dish and cleaned the house top to bottom for you" Alex says

"You guys are too sweet, you didn't have to do all that for me" Pam says tears in her eyes

"Please don't cry mom" Em says and hugs her mom's waist while Alex and I get pulled in by her arms

"You're making me all mushy, come on I want to try some of this food" She says causing us too chuckle as we head into the kitchen

I serve everyone up a dish and we sit chatting about how our day went in school and what crazy thing we did, somehow I let Alex tell Pam about the multiple times I've been kicked out of class and while us three kids find it pretty hilarious, Pam wasn't happy about a few of them but she did laugh in the end.

We migrate to the couch after we've finished eating and put on a film to watch as all of us snuggle up to each other, I find myself sprawled across Alex's lap while Emelia basically lays on top of me since she's light enough.

"Wait I never told you what the lawyer said!" Pam says in realisation

"What did she say!" Alex asks sitting up too

"It turns out your dad had a side business running that he didn't tell anyone about and he was doing it to make enough money for his new family but because he was stupid and don't read the contract the business was signed to both of us because he used the house as insurance and that's under both our names." Pam explains

"He had a side business of what?" Emelia asks shocked

"Investments, remember when he 'lost his job' that year back and we didn't have his income for like 6 months well he was actually saving all that money for this business and invest in a bunch of small business. One of them happens to be Horizon" Pam says and we all just stare at her in shock

"Sorry do you mean Horizon, the clothes shop that literally has almost a store in every state in America" I say not believing what she's saying

"That Horizon indeed, your dad gave them 50 grand to start their business up and in return he signed a contract to gain 8 percent profit for whatever money they make" Pam says smiling widely at the three of us while we all gape at her like fish

"I can't wrap my head around this, you're telling me dad gets 8 percent profit from a company like Horizon!" Emelia says

"How much do they even make?" I ask since it's got to be quite a lot

"This year they turned over 300 million dollars" She says and I let out an audible gasp

"That's-" Alex says but I cut her off

"24 million dollars, are you telling me that you get all that money" I say in disbelief

"Yep, the court ruled in our favour since your father planned to leave us with nothing and go off with his new family and since he lied about being out of a job where we struggled for 6 months since I was the only one bringing in any money, the judge said he didn't deserve any of it" Pam explains

"And since you're also in the contract there's no way he can get a single penny of it" I say smirking in realisation

"Are we millionaires mom?" Alex asks her mother

"Yes Alex, technically we are millionaires" She says smiling as her two daughter leap on top of her cheering loudly.

I can't help but feel happy for the family, having to grow up with little money and your mother working long hours to try and provide you with food, all while your father was living a second life and leaving you to struggle. He got what he deserved and so did these guys.

"I was thinking if you're up for it, we can go house hunting this weekend, I think we deserve some fresh scenery around here" Pam says causing the two girls to squeal happily

"Don't think you're not coming too Dan" She says looking at me

"It's really not my place Pam, this is a family thing" I try to say

"And you think you're not family! I see you as my daughter Dan and you can't get out of it that reality" She says and l smile happily before being pulled into the hug too

So this is what it feels like to have a family again, I guess it's been so long since I had mine I forgot what it feels like to be loved around here


	14. Don't think I've forgotten about you bringing up my parents

Unfortunately, nothing good lasts for me in this world so when I went back to my house this morning to change into a fresh pair of clothes I was met with an angry-looking Mick asking me all sort of questions about where I've been.

I told him I was staying with a friend but he kept asking who and it was but I wasn't going give him Alex's name because God knows what he'd do with it so I just let him beat me until he was happy with his job, all the while Brittney stared at me, a smirk on her lips.

I cleaned myself up as best as I could and drove to school on my bike, coming up with an excuse on the way there. I park in my usual spot and get plenty of looks for the current situation happening on my face.

"Hey bab- Jesus Christ Dan, what happened to your face!" Kelley asks in horror when she sees it.

"is nothing to worry about it, I fell off my bike riding today and I don't have my helmet on so I scrapped it across the floor pretty badly," I say hoping it will convince her

"Have you gone to the nurse's office or something, you need to get it looked at and cleaned, it might get infected," Kelley says getting very panicked over the situation

"babe, please calm down, I'm fine aren't I you don't need to panic," I say but it doesn't work and she soon sees Alex and Serv walking down he corridor so calls them over

"bloody hell Dan, who the hell beat you up," Serv says looking at my face

"nobody, I fell off my bike and I wasn't wearing my helmet so my face scrapped across the floor pretty badly but I'm alright nothing is broken," I say hoping they'll leave me alone

"I think she should go get it cleaned by the nurse but she doesn't want to," Kelley says looking at Alex and Serv

"I'll take her Kelley, you go tell the teacher that she'll be late," Alex says making me groan out in annoyance

"thank you Lex, please stay out of trouble today babe," Kelley says kissing me in the lips and heading to her lesson.

I turn to look at Alex and see her and Serv staring at another like they're almost having a silent conversation and next thing I know my arms being grabbed and dragged across the corridor

"ow guys I can walk to the nurse's office without your help- wait this isn't the nurse's office," I say as they pull me into the other room instead

"give us the truth Dan," Alex says crossing her arm angrily

"I already told you, I crashed my bike-"

"cut the bullshit Dan, I know what a punch looks like and they are most definitely them," He says painting to my face

I don't really have a way off getting out of this one, they don't believe my bike story like Kelley does and Serv already suspects it being first without me even saying anything

"fine it wasn't a biking accident, I got beat up," I say in defeat and slump down in a chair

"beat up! By who?" Alex asks shocked

"it doesn't matter who, can I go now I've told you the truth," I say going to stand up but being pushed back down by Serv causing a hiss to leave my lips

"who the hell did this to you Dan" Serv says just as angrily as Alex

"it was Mick okay! He did it, it's always him he seems to like beating me up" I shout out giving in to their pestering

"who's Mick" Serv asks confused

"her step mom's boyfriend" Alex says for me

"he was in a bad mood this morning when I went home and like usual he took it out on me," I say putting a hand to my ribs thinking about this morning

"Why haven't you told me any of this Dan, after everything we've been through," Alex says looking at me sadly

"because I can't afford anyone finding out and calling the authorities and they guess what we move again, and I can move again especially since we're so close," I say to her and I see Alex face soften in the realisation

"so close to what?" Servando asks not knowing what we're talking about

"don't worry about that" Alex says brushing him off not wanting him to be involved just like how I don't want Kelley to be either

The bell rings suddenly letting us know class has started and the pair finally let me get up and go to the lesson saying they'll check in on me later. I just walk off to maths with Kelley

"Sorry I'm late miss, was with the nurse," I say and she doesn't question it since she can see my face.

I walk to the back of the class and take my seat next to Kelley, putting my head straight on the desk and letting myself fall asleep not wanting to have my brain hurting as well as my body right now.

"Babe, the lessons over" I hear Kelley dating as she rubs circles on my back waking me up from my nap

"Shit, I don't realise I slept the whole thing" I say and look up to see the class packing away

"I wrote your notes out but I doubt you'll need them anyway," Kelley says handing me over some pieces of paper

"Thanks freckles" I say and kiss my girlfriend on the head making her blush like usual.

I'm about to leave when the teacher calls me to the front of the class

"Could I ask where you got those bruises from Dan?" She asks me

"I fell off my bike this morning and I wasn't wearing my helmet but I'm fine now" I say smiling at the teacher, putting on an act so she doesn't get suspicious

"Okay thank you Dan, I have to ask" She says and dismisses me.

The rest of the day goes by slowly, I get asked multiple times what happened and I've ended up shortening my answer to one-word reply, 'Bike' instead of taking the whole story

it's time for lunch but I'm too tired and sore to eat anything so I just sit down next to Kelly and put my bead on the table in front of her. I hear her chuckle and feel her fingers start running through my hair.

"I heard the rumours but damn, you do look a mess Dan" I hear Tobin say across the table

"thanks Tobs," I say giving her a thumbs up but not moving from my position.

"When I heard you were looking bad I don't think you are this ugly" I hear Jaelene say behind me and I really can't be bothered with her shit today so is stand up ready to give her a piece of my mind.

"good, I was trying to look like you today, must have done a good job clearly" I say and we soon find ourselves having another argument in front of the whole canteen.

"original, well done, did you get that out you grandmothers jokebook" Jaelene says rolling her eyes at me

"keep rolling your eyes, maybe you'll find a brain back there" I say in retaliation and hear a lot of people start murmuring after that comment.

"you mean the brain that's probably worth more money than you'll ever make," She says getting a few 'ohs' around the room.

"I could eat a bowl of alphabet soup and shit out a better comeback than that, keep trying and get back to later," I say and decide to end it right now

"you know what Jaelene, I'm sick and tired of you thinking you have this control over me, everyone hates you yet to still think you're this amazing person. I would love to see things from your point of view, but I can't get my head that far up your ass" I say as the whole canteen bursts into laughter.

"don't think I've forgotten about you bringing up my parents, I didn't tell anyone because as you couldn't guess it's wasn't anyone else fucking business. Yeah, my mum did die of cancer, and yes, my dad did die suddenly, I hope you're all happy knowing that" I say and take my self back down next to my girlfriend while Jaelene storms out.

"you are dead meat Dan," Hope says chuckling at me

"I don't care at this point I'm too tired to be bothered," I say and put my head back down

"Why are you so tired babe, I'm worried for you?" Kelley asks concerned

"Alex was snoring really loud last night and it kept me awake," I say not releasing what's come out of my mouth before its too late.

"why were you sleeping at Alex's?" Kelley asks confused

I look over at Alex not knowing what to say right now but I seem to hesitate too long because next thing I know Kelley has run off out the canteen

"shit" I mutter to myself standing up to go after with Alex

"where the hell will she have gone!" I say since I can't see her anywhere

"Follow me, I know where she'll be," Alex says dragging me along with her.

She takes me to the field by the school and through the woods until there's a clearing with a single tree sitting in the middle of it with my girlfriend underneath it. We walk over to Kelley and sit down next to her.

"It's not what you think Freckles, I'm only sleeping at Alex's because home life is a bit rough right now and I see Alex as my sister, I would never cheat on you," I say hoping to convince her of the truth

"I'm sorry for overreacting I just got scared I guess," she says turning to look at us

"that's perfectly understandable, after what happened last time anyone would expect you to be cautious," Alex says to her best friend.

"anyways, Alex has Servando," I say all wink at Alex who starts blushing major Kelley and I start laughing

"When are you guys going to make it official, you're worse than Kelley and I" I say to Alex

"i don't know, we've been on hundreds of dates and he still hasn't asked me, at this rate I'm going to ask him," She says in frustration

"boy problems, can't relate" Kelley says causing us all to laugh with her.


	15. Why do the people with the kindest hearts experience so much pain?

The end of the day comes around quickly and I find myself being forced back to Alex's house since she won't let me go back home, and in her words 'be face to face with a bloody psychopath' so I leave my bike locked up and climb into Alex car.

"what are we going to say to your mom Lex, I can't go telling her it was a biking accident she's a nurse, there's no way she'll fall for that," I say shifting in my seat to try and find a more comfortable position

"Good thing you're not going to lie about it then," She says and I whip my head in her direction not sure I've heard her right.

"what! Alex, I'm not telling Pam that I get beat up at home!" I say to her in shock

"You need to tell an adult Dan! God forbid if something bad happened to you an adult needs to know" Alex shouts in protest

"No! I'm not saying anything! I'll get sent away Alex, they'll put me in the foster care system and then I won't be able to find out who killed my dad! I need to know who did it" I shout back

"I know that Dan and I want to find out just as much as you but I can't keep seeing you like this, it's killing me," Alex says, chocking on her words at the end

I don't say anything back and instead, lean into my seat and look out of the car window. I guess I never really thought about the effect it's having on other people. I'd always gone through it alone patching myself up after nights of Mick's beatings but there are people in my life who really care about me, I just don't know how to let them in yet.

"Look Dan" Alex sighs out, parking her car in the driveway and turning to look at me

"I can't force you to say anything, at the end of the day it's your life but I really really hope you will talk to my mom about it. She won't make you do anything you don't want to do and she won't go to the police she's seen first hand that sometimes that's the worst thing you can do" Alex says looking across at me

"i don't know how to do it Lex," I say and lean my head back closing my eyes to stop the tears from spilling

"do what Dan?" Alex whispers putting a hand on my arm

"open up, tell someone about it all, I've always closed myself off to everyone that tried to get close and now I feel like I've finally got a family again but I'm scared, once I let someone in that's it, they can break me down again," I tell Alex a few tears slipping down my cheek, running into the cuts that litter my face.

"that's no way to live, you have to open your heart back up again, let it be loved, let it be broken, but it all builds you to be a stronger person. If you never let anyone in you can't grow and move on from the past." Alex tells me and I know she's right

"ugh why is everything you say always fucking right" I laugh out as we both sit in the car wiping away our tears

"it's my speciality Parker," She says getting out the car as I follow behind her

"I'll be with you every step of the way," She says grabbing my hand and squeezing it tightly as we stand in front of her door for a second.

"Okay, all I'm doing it, I'm telling Pam" I breath out to myself.

Alex opens the door and we can hear Pam talking with Emelia in the kitchen talking about something that happened at school today. I nervously trail behind Alex as she turns to give me a sympathetic look.

"Hey mom, we're home!" Alex calls out

"Hey guys! How was you're day at sch- DAN!" Pam shouts, dropping the plate she's holding and gasping at my face.

"Pam, why did you do that," I say and rush forward to pick up the broken pieces

"stop, look at me Dan," Pam says pulling on my arm and making me stand up in front of her

"who hurt my baby," She says covering her mouth in shock as she starts to cry

"Please don't cry Pam, I'm okay honestly" I say and hug the older women tightly.

"Jesus Dan, I heard around school that you looked bad but I didn't think it was this bad" Emelia says stepping into the room and getting a slap from Alex for her comment

"not helping Em!" Alex whisper shouts to her sister

"has someone looked at it, did you go the hospital or anything," Pam asks pulling away and grabbing my face in her hands and looking at all the cuts

"I haven't, it happened this morning and I went straight to school afterwards," I say as Pam drags me towards the living room

"but you were here this morning, you left before school!" Pam says rushing around her house to find what I can only guess is medical supplies

"I know that Pam," I say calmly in hopes to settle her nervousness

"Alex! Why didn't you take her to the nurse or something! I thought I taught you better than that" Pam says now shouting at her daughter

"Mom just listen to Dan, there's an explanation for it all I promise," She says and glances at me momentarily

"I can't go to the hospital because they'll ask questions that I can't answer," I say and look down at my lap in embarrassment

"I live with my stepmom and boyfriend as you already know, but he's very aggressive and likes to take his anger out on me sometimes, hence why I look like this today" I say gesturing to my face

I look at Pam and see her face softening with sadness and I know she's thinking everything over.

"I know you think that I should report them but I can't, firstly he's got people in high places and he'll be able to get the charges dropped like that and secondly I'll be put in a foster home, probably moved out of this town too" I tell Pam hoping she'll consider what I'm saying

"Why do the people with the kindest hearts experience so much pain?" She says to me

"Alex said I needed to tell an adult so that's what I'm doing but please don't try and stop me from going back, I have to or he'll get suspicious of things and then we move towns again," I tell Pam and look at Alex for a second since she's the only one who does what I'm referring too.

"I've been a nurse for almost 20 years and I've seen first hand what a negative effect getting the police involved in abuse cases can have" She says letting a sigh out as Alex gives me a 'told you so' look

"I want to protect you Dan and I know I can't do that if he moves you so I won't say anything but I'm getting some ground rules. If anything happens you come here straight away so I can have a look at you. next thing is you're staying here permanently, you can go back show you're face so he doesn't get suspicious but I'm not letting you spend another night there. And lastly, you need to start telling me stuff, I know I'm not your mother but I hope I can be the motherly figure for you. you're still a kid who needs to be shown love." Pam says bringing me in for another hug.

I bury my head in her arms and soon feel another set wrap around me and then another and I'm pretty sure that the Morgan siblings have joined in too.

\- - - -

I slept at the Morgan's last night and all four of us snuggled in with Pam after our emotional chat but right now I'm heading to class with Ash and Tobin when I remember I forgot my books

"Shit, I left my books in my locker, tell miss that I'm getting it" I say to the pair and jog round to my locker.

The halls are empty at this point since my locker is at the other end of the school so I open up my locker, humming along to a tune that's been stuck in my head for ages now.

I'm pulling out my books when something falls to the floor. Confused as to what it could be, I crouch down to pick up a clear plastic bag with three pills sitting in it. I've been to enough rough schools to know full well that these are drugs.

I start panicking a little wondering how the hell they ended up in my locker, I've never done drugs in my life and I don't want to I've seen first hand what it does to people.

I can hear voices coming around the corner and I don't know what to do

"Yeah someone told me they saw her putting them in there sir" I hear Jaelene say

I'm about to just hide them when I hear the sounds of a dog collar jingling and I know I'm royally screwed, even if I hide them that dog is going to stiff them out so quickly and I'm officially dead.

The first thing that comes to my mind is to swallow them so that's exactly what my stupid ass does, I take the pills out and quickly throw them back before shoving the wrapper down my bra just I time for the principle to walk around the corner with Jaelene by her side and a guard

"Parker, why are you not in lesson?" Mr Davis asks me

"I forgot my book sir, I was just coming to collect it" I says and take out the text book I need

"Well I need to search your locker, we've gotten word from another student that you have drugs in your possession" He says and I fake a surprised look like I don't already know Jaelene has this all planned out

"You can look sir but you won't find any" I say and take a step back letting the guard and his dog pull things out my locker and start sniffing it

I watch as Jaelene's confident face starts to fall over time as she soon realised that there's nothing in here.

"It's all clean" The guard says stepping away and putting everything back in place

"That's can't be right, they are in there I know it" Jaelene says angrily in protest

"I would like to head back to class now you've finished accusing me thank you" I say looking the principle in the eyes

"Of course, I'm very sorry about all this" He says and waves me off, I collect my book and discreetly wink at Jaelene as I walk past her and around the corner.

Once I know she's not looking I sprint towards the toilets, pushing open the door and seeing a group of freshman all crowded around the sinks

"Out, now" I say and watch as they scuttle out scared of me

I quickly barge open a stall door and kneel on the floor my head over the toilet as I attempt to stick fingers down my throat and throw up whatever drugs I've just ingested into my body.

"Just throw up" I say to myself as nothing seems to be working. The door to the bathroom suddenly opens and I yell for them to get out

"Dan, is that you?" I hear Kelley say

"I need your help Kelley" I say and wait for her to come into my stool

"What the hell is going on!" She asks in shock

"I swallowed some pills and I have no clue what they are and I really need to throw them back up" I say hoping Kelley can do something to help me

She doesn't reply but rushes over to me and presses down hard on the bottom of my neck before shoving two fingers down my throat. That's all it takes for my reflex to kick in and I throw up in the toilet bowl, the three pills floating in the water.

I slump against the cubicle wall in exhaustion and Kelley does the same thing while I try to get my breath back

"Please tell me you're not taking drug" Kelley asks panicked

"God no, Jaelene planted them in my locker and I had nowhere to hide them so I swallowed them and ran straight here to try and throw them back up" I explain

"Why are you hear?" I asks confused

"I got a text from Tobin saying you'd gone to get a book but where taking forever, they where worried something had happened so I went looking for you, clearly something did" She says and I let out a small chuckle

"I didn't think she'd go to these extremes to get me kicked out, you need to be careful Dan" Kelley says looking scared for me

"I know, this is clearly my payback for humiliating her in front of the entire school yesterday" I say in realisation

"Please take it easy with her, I don't want you getting hurt" She says holding my hand in hers

"I will from now on, I promise" I say to my girlfriend, helping her up off the floor

"I would kiss you but I don't really want to taste sick" She says scrunching her nose up playfully at me

I just laugh at her and walks out of the bathroom my arm around her waist thankful to her someone like Kelley in my life.


	16. Do you remember what you said last night Dan?

"get your head in the game Parker! we've got a game to play this weekend," Coach says as I make another bad pass to Serv

"yes coach!" I reply back and huddle with the boys again

"you okay Dan? It's not like you to mess up this much?" Charlie asks concerned

"I'm good guys, there's just a lot on my plate right now" I say and see the boys all give me sympathetic looks which is not what I want.

"let's run through the next play," I say and see my team nod putting on the helmets and getting into position.

I yell hut and receive the ball from the centre before handing off to Tyler our halfback who floats to the right and runs between the two left-backs before making it to the end zone

"alright call it for the night boys!" Coach yells and I take my helmet off in exhaustion my body aching so much these days.

I jog off the pitch with the rest of the guys when coach calls me back.

"what's going on with you today Parker, you're always on your game and you most definitely weren't tonight," He says putting his clipboard under his arm as he looks at me concerned

"there's just a lot going on at home sir, my heads kind off all over the place at the moment," I say truthfully to him

"alright Parker, if you're not up for this weekend and can put in Jason?" Coach questions but I shake my head refusing to not play a game

"I'll be good by then coach, I promise," I say

"if you ever need to talk, my door always open you know that," He says to me

"I know coach, and I'll keep that in mind for the future" I reply back

"alright you can head off to the showers now, I'll see you soon for soccer practice," He says and I jog off through the locker room to the girls one.

I take about twice as long just getting my gear off with how sore my muscles are and when I eventually make it to the shower I let the warm water soothe the tension I'm feeling right now.

I sort of loose track of time and I end up being the last one finished, my bike the only thing left in the carpark. I slip on my helmet and make the ride back to Alex's house the whole time trying to not fall asleep.

My whole body feels ready to shut down by the time I arrive and I just get the set of keys Pam gave me last week to let myself in, walking straight towards the coach and collapsing onto it

"Dan, is that you?" I hear Pam shout from the kitchen

I shout a muffled 'yes' back but my face is currently deep into the couch and I really don't have the effort to lift it up

"you look like shit" I hear Alex say laughing at me.

I lift my hand up and flick her off, not in the mood for Alex being Alex right now.

"You look shattered sweetie" I hear Pam say as the couch dips next to me

"Everything aches" I groan out, shuffling so I'm on my back and I can see everyone

"why don't you get into bed and have a few hours rest, you look like you haven't slept in days Dan," Pam says as her and Alex help me stand up and carry me to Alex's room.

I crawl under the covers and bring them up close to my face already feeling myself drifting off to sleep

"see you tomorrow Dan" Alex whispers

"night sweetie" Pam whispers too kissing me on the head

"night mom" I mumble back not realising the words that have come out of my mouth before I fall asleep

\- - - -

I wake up to the sun shining on my face and the only person in bed, assuming Alex has already headed downstairs for breakfast I do my morning routine and but on some fresh clothes before joining them down there too

"morning guys" I say to Pam, Alex and Emelia heading straight towards the cereal.

I pour myself a bowl and get the milk out of the fridge and take a seat at the kitchen counter before eating my breakfast. I notice that no one has said a word since I came in so I look up and see the Morgans all being extremely weird

"what's going on, why are you guys acting so strange?" I question shovelling another spoonful in my mouth

"do you remember what you said last night Dan?" Alex asks me

"not really, I just remember crashing on the couch why did I do something embarrassing?" I ask confused and a little worried I did something bad.

"you came in pretty tired and crashed on the couch, Alex and I took you back to your bed and I was tucking you in and kissed your head when you mumbled mom to me" Pam explains and I start chocking on the food in my mouth

"God I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to, it's just my mom used to always do that and I must be been too tired to realise what I was saying" I nervously say out

They don't say anything to me and I know I've fucked up, I mean why would I even say that I'm not Pams daughter I'm just a girl that eats all their food and stays in their house because mines shitty.

"I-I'm ju gonna- like- yeah" I splutter out not knowing what to say right now and run out the door heading straight to my bike and drive off.

Why did my stupid tired brain have to say those words! I might as well move towns now to save myself from embarrassment.

I end up instinctively driving to the tree me and Kelley have sort of made our spot, sitting with my back against the bark as I stare up at the flowers blossoming above me.

Why would my mind say that? I know Pam has been the only parental figure I've had since my dad died but she's not my mom, my mom died when I was 11 of cancer.

As much as I do see Pam as a motherly figure I'm definitely not ready to be calling her mom yet, it would just feel weird and like I'm almost forgetting about my own

I don't know how long I've been sitting here for but it's long enough for them to find me but what I didn't expect was for Kelley to be the one walking to me

"how come you're here?" I ask my girlfriend as she walks over

"I got a call from a very concerned friend saying you ran out this morning and no one could find you" Kelley says taking a seat next to me

"Yeah, I kind of panicked and ran out the house," I say looking at Kelley sheepishly

"Alex was pretty frantic on the phone and just shouted something about calling her mom and running out the house" Kelley says trying to remember her conversation

"apparently last night I called Pam mom by accident and I was too tired to remember, they told me this morning and I got so embarrassed by it all I just ran" I say to Kelley

"why? It's not like anything bad was going to happen" Kelley says

"I know that but I just panicked because I don't want them to like shun me or something," I tell Kelley flopping to the floor.

I hear Kelley giggle at me and move to lie her head on my chest as I wrap my arms around her body

"I know for a fact Pam wouldn't shun you, she's said before how she sees you as a daughter right? Maybe she was just surprised too" Kelley says and I know she's right

"it's just going to be so awkward now" I groan out as Kelley lifts herself off me so she can look at me properly

"only if you make it babe, Pam knows that she's not your birth mother and she's not trying to replace her but doesn't mean she can't be there for you like an actual one too" My girlfriend tells me and I hug her tighter and rolls us over

"Why are you always right" I say smirking on top of her

"because I'm your girlfriend and it's my job," She says smirking back and kissing my lips before slipping out underneath me

"come on, you've got some people to go and apologize to," She says taking my hand and dragging me back to my bike

"do you mind maybe coming with me?" I ask Kelley quietly

"of course babe, whatever you need," She says and climbs onto the back of my bike as I drive us back to Alex's house.

I pull up and let Kelley hop off before walking back into the house where the Morgan families heads all whip in my direction

"I'm sorry for running out, I just panicked and need to think for a second don't mean to scare you all," I say and feel Alex come and hug me first before Pam and Emelia join in too

"you're safe and that's all that matters," Pam says kissing my head

"I'm guessing Kelley got to you then," Alex says

"yeah she was in our usual spot like I thought" Kelley replies for me

"Listen, sweetie, I want you to know that nothing has changed okay? You're still Dan to me and I'll always see you like my other daughter but I completely understand if you don't see me as your mom because at the end of the day I'm not but I want nothing more than to be there for you as if I was" Pam says making me smile at her

"Thank you Pam and I do see you like my mom I just don't think I'm ready for that yet," I tell her honestly and she nods her head in understanding, pulling me in for another hug

"That perfectly okay with me" She replies kissing me on the head

I look at Kelley and see her giving me her 'I told you so' look making me rills my eye at her

"alright Freckles, you were right," I say making her smirk

"Freckles?" Pam says confused

"just my nickname for Kel," I say looking at my girlfriend

"how come Kelley knew where to find you?" Pam asks me

"Oh, we have this spot in a big field under a tree we both like to go if things are getting a bit much and we like to think, I guess she knew I'd go there," I say and smile lovingly at my girlfriend

"Is there something going on here that I shook know about," Pam says and I watch as the two Morgan siblings smirk at me

"I mean if you're indicating whether we're dating or not? Yes we are" I say casually while Kelley turns the same shade as a tomato

"what! And you didn't tell me" Pam says smacking my arm

"I guess it slipped my mind," I say shrugging it off

"well I approve, Kelley is the perfect person to keep you in line," Pam says hugging my girlfriend who just smirks at me

"why is she keeping me in line!" I shout in protest

"how many times have I saved you from getting a detention babe?" Kelley says getting me raised eyebrows from Pam

"and on that note, I think it's time we had to school," I say grabbing Kelley and dragging her back outside to my bike.

"be safe you lot!" Pam shouts as all four of us head out her door and to school.

"Next time, don't run away because you almost gave me a heart attack," Alex says crossing her arms at me

"Okay I won't next time," I say and hug the girl as an apology

"right race ya!" I say hoping on with Kelley holding onto me tightly as I speed off out her driveway, ready for another day in hell


	17. You're holding a bag of frozen peas to your face, no normal person does that Dan

"what's that ugly thing growing out of your neck... Oh... It's you're head, my bad" I say to Jaelene as I walk past her down the corridor chuckling to myself.

"you honestly have a death wish," Tobin says shaking her head but still laughing with me

"its the only bit of entertainment I get in this school, gotta keep things spicy up in here," I say winking to Tobs as we walk into the locker room with the other girls

We get dressed into our kits for today's game and I take my seat next to Kelley, kissing the side of her head as I do so. I listen to coach giving off instructions and wait for him to finish so I can get Alex to tape my wrists up and then go write my message on them.

I join the team in heading out into the field and get into my position in the starting eleven for today's game. The whistle blows and I set my mind to win this game, no other outcome possible

"Another great win tonight girls, I don't want to tell you but that game made us qualify for state again so congratulations, I'll see you all in a few days for training," coach says dismissing us after the game has ended.

I decide to take a shower here and change into my clean clothes once I've washed all the mud and sweat off my body. Putting my dirty clothes in an old bag before heading to my bike.

"Dan I'll meet you back at home, we need to work on the DMC tonight," Alex says using our code name for dad's murder case

"Okay, I'll see you there I need to head back to my place and get a fresh set of clothes before" I reply slipping on my helmet and tying by backs to the back of my seat

I make the drive back to my house where I don't see any cars in the driveway so I automatically assume both Mick and Brittney are out leaving me to easily grab fresh clothes and be out of there with no problem.

It turns out to not be the case and open the front door to hear Mick talking with a room full of men all dressed in suits. They have their backs turned away from me but I'm able to get a glimpse of one of the guys who has a scar on his right eyebrow before I duck behind the wall.

"give me one-second boys" I hear Mick say and I know I need to leave now.

I walk back out the same way I came and try to get back to my bike when I'm suddenly pulled back by my hood and onto the concrete floor

"Why are you walking into my meetings, you could've have gotten me in big trouble if they saw you little girl!" He spits out and throws a punch at my freshly healed face

"I'm sorry I just wanted to get some clothes!" I say trying to defend myself but I don't know why I even try, it's not like he's going to let me off

"don't be coming back for a while, I don't want you interrupting any more meetings," He says punching me one last time and throwing me to the side like a piece of trash as he walks back inside.

I spit out the blood pooling in my mouth and lift myself off the ground before walking back round to my bike, wincing whenever I move my face too much.

I drive off to Alex's house knowing she'll be able to patch me up when I arrive and just hope that I can think of an excuse to come up with for tomorrow.

Putting my bike next to Alex's car, I climb off and walk inside heading to the kitchen and grabbing some frozen peas out the freezer, putting them on my face hoping it will take the swelling down.

"how the hell did you manage to get beat up this time" Alex says from behind me

"how do you know I've been beaten up you can't even see me" I say to her and you can hear the smirk in my voice

"you're holding a bag of frozen peas to your face, no normal person does that Dan," She says back

I just spin around to give her a sheepish look, putting the peas down to one side on the countertop as she comes over and has a look at the damage Mick has done.

"he's got you good there Parker, but I don't think it will be as bad as last time, mom has some cream I can put on to bring out the bruising quicker," she says to me

"where is your mom by the way?" I ask Alex as we walk to her room

"she's at work, sorting out her new schedule now she doesn't have to work longer hours at the hospital," Alex says

"that whole thing is just so crazy like your dad was a secret millionaire and now he's got nothing but instead you guys do," I say chuckling at how ridiculous it sounds

"tell me about it, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact we own 8 percent of Horizon, that's a nice brand and all" Alex says as she pulls back her wardrobe making me remember what I saw before

"That reminds me! Mick was having a meeting in our house with a bunch of fancy looking dudes but one of them had a scar on his eyebrow so we can add him to the list of guys he works for" I say to Alex and watch as she writes it down.

"Mick looked really on edge when he was beating me, his punches were sloppy and quick, whatever they were talking about it was very important," I say and see Alex start to think about it all

"the other guys didn't see you right?" She asks me

"no, I ducked out the way before they could, the only person that did was Mick," I say as Alex nods her head relieved.

"let's get back to this later, right now I think I've got some self-defence to teach you," I say to her

"where are we doing this then?" Alex asks jumping up excitedly

"in the garden, more space out there and I can throw you to the floor," I say smirking at the suddenly scared-looking person

"come again," She says making me laugh as she follows me to the garden. This should be fun.

\- - - -

"Another great game, well-done girls, unfortunately, I thought I'd let you know I won't be here for the next cup game since the boys have a football game the same day so Coach Janice is taking that one" Coach tells us and we all groan since nobody likes coach Janice

"it's only for one game, I'm sure you can handle that," He says clearly seeing our annoyed expression

"wait? How are Tobin and I meant to play in the game if we've got a soccer game?" I ask thinking about it all

"I was going to ask you girls this, but your match is at 2 and the football games start at 4 so you could make it since they're both home games but if you want to rest I totally understand," he says to Tobin and I, we look at each other and sort of have a silent conversation asking the other person what they're thinking.

"I'm fine for doing both," I say first nodding my head at Tobin who nods back and says the same thing

"Okay great! But if you feel like you can't in the day just let me know it won't be a problem" He says assuring us

"Thanks coach," I say grateful he's thinking about our health and not just winning all his games

"you can all head home now, well done again girls," He says walking out so we can all change

"did you hear about the third break-in across town this week?" I overhead Julie say to Sammy

"yeah! I can't believe they've managed to rob that many places without being caught, and it's all the science places too" Sammy says

I walk away from the conversation wondering if this could have anything to do with why Mick looked so on edge at the beginning of the week, as he involved in these robberies?

"We need to hit the DMC when we get back, got some questions that need an answer" I whisper in Alex's ear.

She turns to nod at me and I walk back over to my stuff collecting it all together and getting ready to head out and into my bike.

"baby, do you fancy going on a date sometime this weekend," Kelley asks coming to wrap her arms around my waist and look up at me

"I'm going shopping with Pam and Alex on Saturday but I'm free Sunday to do something," I say slightly lying out the shopping aspect, can you call looking for houses shopping?

"Sunday sounds good to me, can we go to the new ice cream place?" Kelley asks giving me her puppy dog eyes

"you don't even need to use them, you know I'd say yes anyway," I said pecking her lips as Alex comes over

"ew can you stop doing that to my best friend please, it's making me uncomfortable," Alex says giving us a disgusted look

"you're just jealous Servando is too much of a pussy to ask you out," Kelley says causing me to gasp next to me

"where and what have you done with the shy Kelley I know," I say poking her like she's a changed person

"This was what she used to always be like, insulting the shit out of everyone for no reason," Alex says glaring at my girlfriend.

"well I think its incredibly sexy" I whisper in her ear and see her start to blush again

"I don't even want to know what you said but it's probably inappropriate and definitely our cue to leave," Alex says grabbing my arm and pulling me away as I wave goodbye to Kelley

"meet you at the house?" Alex asks climbing into her car as I get on my bike

"race you" I smirk out, putting my helmet on and racing off before she can start her car.

I end up beating her like always, I do have the advantage of weaving through cars so Alex always likes to say it's an unfair race but it's never stopped her before.

We head back up to her room and lock the door before pulling out the wardrobe again and taking another look at the murder board.

"I can wait until we move house, after looking at that one the other day I didn't realise how small my room was" Alex chuckles to herself

"I mean that place is pretty sweet, you've got a pool and a full-sized garden to play hours of soccer," I say remembering the look on all our faces when we went to view it

"We are going to have the girls around every weekend for a game," She says as we laugh.

"okay let's have a look at this then," I say concentrating on what's important right now

"well we've got 'scarface' added on as a possible suspect too and maybe being the boss man" Alex says pointing to his name on the board

"yep, there's also been multiple break-ins in the next town over, all scientific labs, maybe they all link with when Mick kept disappearing at night," I say and let Alex add it on.

"okay so we know that Camden Forest is involved in it all, we really need to go there and scope out the place soon" Alex says and I hum in agreement

"I still don't know what the Hackley part stands for, it's really confusing me," I tell Alex

"me too but let's just try and solve one thing at a time, should we head over there tomorrow?" Alex questions spinning around to look at me

"yeah sounds fine, we're viewing another house at 10 right?" I ask

"yeah, we can head over straight after that and see if we find anything," She says agreeing with me.

"I'm home!" we hear getting yelled from downstairs

We quickly move everything back to its original place and head downstairs to greet Pam and ask about what happened at work

"So what did they say mom, can you take more time off," Alex asks Pam

"they said I can take the weekends off now and just work weekdays which is perfect, I get to see you lot more often," She says coming to hug Alex and I

"where's your sister?" Pam asking having noticed the absence of the youngest Morgan sibling

"she's round at the boyfriends" Alex says rolling her eyes

"At least she has a boyfriend, you've been pinning after the same guy since freshman year" Pam says and I start chocking on the air

"Get told Morgan" I say laughing at Alex who's mouth is just hanging open in shock

Pam is a savage.


	18. This has just got a whole lot bigger than I thought it would

"what are we even looking for here," Alex asks as we trudge up the trail at Camden Forest

"I don't know, something that screams 'I look dodgy, don't go in'" I say to Alex sarcastically

"Thanks, Einstein, really helpful," she says rolling her eyes at me like usual.

Alex and I search the forest high and low for anything that could help us, but all the paths we seem to follow just lead to endless trees going on for miles.

"what about the new trail, the one you took Kelley on her date," Alex says as the sun is starting to set

"there's literally nothing there except the cliff view, I mean there was that ancient build-" I say cutting myself off as I realise what I'm saying

"I'm so fucking stupid" I mumble to nobody in particular and take off jogging towards where I know the factory is

"where are we going, Dan!" Alex shouts following behind me

"you'll see in a second" I shout back and take the next left leading us right where I was with Kelley

"you see that building there, Kelley told me it was an old abandoned factory from after the second world war that used to produce cotton, it hasn't been touched since" I explain and as Alex raises her eyebrows at me

"what! I was listening to her" I say walk in towards the gate through the tall grass

"for a place that hasn't been touch since world war two, these locks look very new to me," Alex says getting a closer look to see what's attached to the gates

"They do indeed," I say and look at the rust-free locks keeping this place closed off.

"How are we going to get in, it's not like we can scale these gates?" Alex says looking around for another entrance but I'm just concentrated on these locks, while they're brand new they aren't the latest out there so old enough for me to pick them

I grab Alex's head and pull it down so I can get a bobby pin from her bun.

"Jesus Dan, was there any need for that," She says slapping my hand away

I just smirk at her, finding it funny how easily riled up she gets and I start to unpick the lock

"do I want to know where you learnt to do this?" She says watching me intently

"I've already told you I went to a few questionable schools and that meant I had a few questionable friends too," I say just as I hear the last click letting me know it's unlocked

"like old times," I say letting out a sigh while Alex gives me a strange look

The sun has almost set by now so we get our phones and turn on the torches, hoping we don't step on something old and dangerous.

"This is a bad idea, we should come in the daylight," Alex says glancing around nervously

"it's fine, come on there's a path here leading to somewhere," I say and follow along with it

We arrive at a huge electronic door, the only way to enter it through a keypad that we don't have the code for

"This is definitely not a World War two abounded building if you ask me Dan," Alex says looking around for some way in

"There has to be another way, let's head around the back," I say pulling a very reluctant Alex along with me.

We creep around the sides until we find a window that's been left slightly open by whoever was in here last. I slide it upwards and climb in, dropping down inside the factory, staying as quiet as I can

"This is a really bad idea" Alex whisper shouts at me again

"Just shut up and get in here will you," I say back getting tired of her complaining.

"I can't see shit" She moans again, I look around for some light switch maybe and find a lever on the side of the wall

I pull it down, much to Alex's protest, and we hear the sound of things booting back up, the lights to this place switch on one at a time and we're left looking at a very much in use factory

"what the hell is all this?" Alex asks starting at it in as much shock as me

The entire place is full of machines and tables all with scientific equipment on top of them. I walk closer to one of them and realise it's all drug equipment

"its full of drugs Lex, this is all the stuff you need to make different types," I say looking at the equipment here, Alex doesn't question my knowledge but comes and has a closer look

"do you think this is where Mick gets all his drugs from, have we just found CH's workshop," Alex says nervously

"I think we have Morgan," I say realising what we've just walked into.

We decide it's best to leave before we trip any wires or something, so after taking hundreds of photos we climb back out and head down the trail back to Alex's car, sitting in there for a moment

"This has just got a whole lot bigger than I thought it would," I say looking over at Alex who seems trained on the trees in front of her

"there's an entire drug operation going on inside our town, and nobody here has a single clue about it," She says

"It has to stay that way too, if we say something we're compromising everything we've found so far and they'll just pack their bags and move elsewhere," I say realising that's why we moved towns so often with Mick

"This is so fucked up" Alex whispers, her head flopping back against the seat

"tell me about it"

\- - - -

"well what about the meeting?" Alex ask sending another kick to my stomach as I block it with my hands

"I'm not sure, maybe it's about that deal we overheard them chatting about a few weeks back," I say panting a little as I send my own counter strike

"that's going down in what, 5 weeks now?" Alex says as I grab her arms and pin her to the floor

"yep, we've got until then to figure out where and why it's happening," I tell her letting her go and brushing myself off

"its been weeks since we went to the factory, and nothing has happened since, do you think they know we were there?" Alex asks me

"No, I would've heard something or Mick would be acting different but everything's normal right now" I reply

"you're picking this up very quickly Morgan," I say changing the subject and offering my hand for her to take

"its doesn't feel like it, you just keep on kicking my butt every time," she says following me back inside the house for a glass of water

"I was the same when I first started Alex, I quit about 10 times within the first month," I say making her laugh just as Emelia walks in

"Hey Em, how was school," I ask the younger Morgan, she doesn't reply but shrugs her shoulder before heading to the cupboards

"you okay Em?" Alex asks her sister since she's never this quiet

We don't get a reply again and Emelia goes to walk-off but I grab her wrist and spin her around so she's facing us both, it's then that I notice her red eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

Alex is quick to pull her sister into her arms and I join in too not used to seeing the younger girl crying.

We keep Emelia in our arms for a few seconds and Alex and I share a concerned look with each other.

"I don't even know why I'm crying, it's stupid," She says wiping away the tears

"It's not stupid Em, why don't you tell us why your upset, maybe we can help," Alex says sweetly and leads her sister to the couch where we've had many deep conversations.

"It's just these bitches in my year who think they own everything and make my life fucking hell because I'm dating Jack," She says groaning out

"is it the same one's we walked in on that day we met?" I ask thinking I know who she's referring to

"yeah, and a few others, they're just her little side minions. Just imagine if Jaelene had a younger sister, this girl would be it" Em says

"What did they do," Alex asks angrily since she very protective of her sister

"it's the usual name-calling and bitchiness but it's just getting too much, I'm pretty good at brushing it off because I know they're just jealous Jack is with me and not her but it still hurts, I still hear what they're saying. Today they took it a step further and cornered me in the bathroom, dunked my head in the toilet" She says a few tears slipping down her face again

"what are their names," I ask angrily

"it doesn't matter," I say trying to brush it off but I give her a stern look telling her I'm not giving up until she tells me

"Abby Wright, Issy McCoy, Sophie Graham and Taylor Williamson. Abby's the queen bee of them all" She says giving up

"I promise you, they won't bother you again okay" I say sternly to her

"you say that but what are you going to do, I get it at school, I get it at home, I get it wherever I go," She tells us.

"trust me when I say this Em, by tomorrow they won't bother you again," Alex says and looks at me, both of us thinking the same things

These girls are going to regret messing with a Morgan.

The next day rolls around and I make sure to hug Emelia extra tight this morning and reassure her that things will work out.

She asks if she can ride on the back of my bike to school and don't have a problem with that so I give her my helmet and take off down the roads until we head to school. We pull up in my usual spot and get a few looks from people since I never let anyone ride on my bike.

I see the Jack kid come up and hug Em, but I pull them apart and drag him somewhere else, wanting to have a few words with him

"Listen here, I know you might be popular in your year and head of JV but if you're playing with Em just for some kick I will beat your ass to a pulp," I say grabbing into his arm tightly

"I-I promise I'm not, I really like Em a lot and I would never do that to her she's the only girl who treats me normally," He says looking like he's about to piss his pants

"if you even want a spot on Varsity you better not break her heart," I say and watch him gulp nervously, head nodding up and down like a bobblehead.

"Look after her kid," I say and send him back to Emelia who's giving me an angry look for scaring her boyfriend but I just smile back finding it a little funny.

I see Alex pulling into her spot and climbing out so I meet her on the walk-up.

"The plan still a going ahead," She asks me

"yep, I've got Ash and Hope to join, should scare the little shits into next year," I say smirking

"you're finding way too much joy in all this, you know that right," She tells me, raising her eyebrows

"and you're telling me you aren't" I reply finding it hard to believe

"no, I very much am," She says making us laugh as we part ways before our big plan comes into play later today

\- - - -

"I can't believe Jaelene wants to speak with us" I hear an annoying high pitch voice speak out behind the bathroom door.

I'm currently standing in the girl's bathroom waiting for the 4 girls who have been making Emieia's life hell to walk in and right into my trap. The door pushes open and they see me at the end

"you're not Jaelene, we're meant to be speaking with her in here," One of them says snottily

"that's just the thing, you aren't" I say, smirking at their faces

They scoff at me and go to leave but Alex comes in with Hope and Ash who step in the way, locking the door behind them so they can't get out

"what the hell do you think you're doing" One of the says

"teaching you lot a lesson" I reply and take a step forward and grab one of them by the arm, dragging her to the toilet stall and making her kneel in front of it

"what's you name" I angrily shout at her as I push her head down.

"Please don't do this!" The girl screams our already crying

"I asked for your name!" I really back just pushing her head further towards the water

"Abby" The girl cries out and I know I've got the head bitch

"do you like this! Getting your head pushed down into a toilet! Is this what you want me to do" I scream at her getting closer and closer to the water

"No! Please no!" She continues to say, I've had enough of listening to her cry so I pull her out and just her against the bathroom wall.

"if you ever do anything to Emelia Morgan again, I will end your life," I say coldly, starting this girl dead in the eyes

"and I mean anything, you leave her and boyfriend alone or I'll finish what I started," I say and see her nod her head up and down very quickly.

I push her towards her friends again, who had the same treatment as Abby and Hope unlocks the door where they scramble out the room.

We all kind of stare at each other for a few seconds before bursting out laughing at what just happened

"I'm pretty sure my girl actually pissed her pants," Ash says as we walk out the toilet ourselves

"Thanks for doing that guy, I know you could get in trouble if we get caught," Alex says to us

"Are you kidding, nobody picks on little Morgan and thinks they can get away with it," Hope says smiling at Alex.

These guys are the best.


	19. Jesus Parker, we need to get you to the nurse's office

The last few months have been a little crazy, to say the least, Mick has decided he doesn't want me in the house at all now, saying I'm too much of a distraction but I know he doesn't want what happened last time to be another problem.

So that means I practically live with Alex. Pam ended up buying a house and it's very nice; three stories, full backyard with a pool and hot tub built-in and plenty of room inside to keep everyone entertained.

She offered me my own room in the house but Alex and I decided we like sleeping in the same place together so we knocked down the room next door that was going to be mine and basically converted it into one huge room. We have separate sides of the room that we keep all out stuff in but a king-sized bed in the middle.

It's still being built and furnished since we decide to paint it all ourselves and wanted to add in a few cool features.

Schools have been great, Emelia has stopped having problems with bullies and her and Jack can just enjoy school as the Sophomores they are. Jaelene's still a pain in my ass but these days it's just words being said back and forth to the other, nothing since the drug incident.

It's Kelley's and Is four months coming up soon and right now we're just cuddled up on the field with a few of our teammates from both sports

"no I'm telling you, Mr Davis is definitely having an affair with Miss Jenkins" Zach says making us all burst out laughing

"you're imagining things Zach," Servando says shaking his head at our teammate who has his arm secretly around Alex's waist

"well what is this then" he declares getting out his phone and showing us a photo of the two teachers coming out of a closet looking very messy

We all just stare at in shock thinking he was joking but this is definitely after sex look for the both of them

"bro are you serious, how did you get this," I say taking his phone so Kelley and I can get a better look

"I was coming out the bathroom and saw them across from me, I already had my phone out cause I was checking if my hair was okay," He says and we all roll our eyes at the last part

"you do realise that you've basically got photographic evidence of our headteacher having an affair," Kelley says looking at Zach who's just smirking

"yep and that means I've got a free pass for the rest of school," He says smugly

"Send me that photo now," I say wanting to have a free pass from getting kicked out majorly

however, we're interrupted when the devil decides to grace us with her presence.

"excuse me boys, but why at you sitting with these, things," Jaelene says looking over at Zach and Servando

"Listen here Jaelene, we're sick of pretending to actually like you and want some real friends in this school, so just jog on will you," Serv says and Alex practically chokes next to him

"excuse me!" She says loudly

"you heard him, move along," Zach says and I've never seen her so mad before.

"what the fuck just happened," Tobin says speaking up and breaking the silence

We all just burst out laughing watching as she angrily stomps away in her Gucci shoes she's like to flex on us all with.

"You both are dead" I say but the boys just shrug their shoulders not having a care in the world about it.

The day progresses and ever since this morning, I've been getting weirder and weirder looks from students passing by in the corridor. I'm at my locker heading to the last lesson when I see Emelia full-on sprinting down the corridor and straight at me

"whoa whoa, what's the rush," I say looking at her with wide eyes

"bunch of guys coming, beat you up," She says in-between breaths

"What! When" I ask in shock but she doesn't need to answer because coming around the corner is 2 guys with baseball bats

"oh shit" I mumble and start to slowly turn around but notice there's another 2 coming that way too.

"get coach" I mumble to Emelia and see her conflicted to leave me but in the end she does and I hope she's quick

"what's up fellas, don't suppose you're just here for a chat are you?" I say to the seemingly angry boys, even though I don't know what I've done.

"don't make this hard on yourself Dan" one of the says

"no promises" I reply a smirk setting on my lips at the challenge I'm facing

The first guy runs up, his bat swinging high in the air as he tries to strike me with it, I just duck out the way and push his back so he goes flying into the lockers.

"Watch yourself big boy," I say as the guy lies on the floor holding his face

Two of them decide to double team me but I just stuck out my foot and kick one of them where the sun doesn't shine and the others bat I grab off him and hit him instead.

By this point most the hallway has gathered around and either their phones are out recording or texting their friends to get here quickly.

The last guy decides to throw his bat to one side and fight more like a man than the others. He lunges forward first, jabbing at my face but I dodge past it and sent my own attack to his face which narrowly misses.

He doesn't waste time in going again and I'm soon grabbing a hold of his leg he's just swung against my ribs. I pull his leg in hopes to get him to the floor but he hooks his foot around me and I end up going down too.

He throws a punch and gets me right on the jaw, getting plenty of reactions from the crowd, and causing me to stumble off him a little. He goes again, thinking he has the advantage, but I easily block and punch him back.

I'm about to end this guy when I feel something come into contact with my back and I roll onto the floor in excruciating pain.

"Just stay down Parker," One of them says kicking my ribs again.

The other there have seemed to recovered by now and I'm being jumped by four guys all getting in their boxing practice

"Break it up!" I hear coach shout angrily coming down the hall causing the crowd to quickly disperse

The boys all scramble off me but not before one sends a final punch to my face and coach arrives to push him off me.

"Jesus Parker, we need to get you to the nurse's office," Coach says lifting up my arm and helping me off the floor.

"Not the nurse coach, I can't go to the nurse," I say through gritted teeth as Emelia and him help me walk

"you've has just been beaten up Dan" Coach says trying to protest my request

"Coach, I say this in the nicest way possible, don't take her to the fucking nurse or things will turn to shit," Emelia says and I smirk at the younger Morgan's attitude

"I'm still patching you up," He says and walks me back to his office.

I sit down and let him clean my cuts and check my ribs and back which are lucky just bruised so I won't need to sit out of sports for too long.

"can I ask why you're always turning up at school beaten or in this case being beaten up in school," Coach asks putting some tape on my cheek

"Jaelenes out for my blood basically and she'll do anything to have me leave her school" I explain just as the door is pushed open

"Dan! Jesus Em text saying you got beat up again" Kelley says coming over and grabbing my face in concern

"I'm fine Freckles, nothing that won't heal," I say grabbing her hand so she's now I'm serious.

Coach awkwardly clears his throat and we turn to look at him raising his eyebrows at us both.

"what? It's not like we try and hide it, I'm always staring at her" I say which just gets an eye roll from him.

"take last lesson off you too, I'll tell your teachers you're helping me out," Coach says to us

"Thanks coach" I reply jumping down off my seat and grabbing Kelley's hand.

"fancy some ice cream m'lady," I ask my girlfriend

"if you want some then sure," She says kissing me quickly on the lips before we head out of school and onto my bike

\- - - -

I'm back at my second home, decorating our room and waiting for Alex to get back from school when I hear the front door open downstairs

"Dan?" I hear Alex shout

"in our room!" I yell back and listen to her running up the stairs

"Hey, you okay? I heard what happened today, or should I say watched" Alex says coming into our room

"yeah I'm fine, I've had worse anyways," I say shrugging it off

"I totally forgot!" Alex gasps and chucks her back to one side

"forgot what?" I ask confused

"I might have added an extra addition to our room and they came to put it in place today," Alex says smirking at me and walking towards the bookshelf

"The bookshelf, I saw that and thought it was a nice touch, why are you so excited by that," I ask frowning

"because it's not just a bookshelf dumbass" She replies rolling her eyes and reaching forward to pull a book out.

What I expected to happen was for it to slide out and she'd show me something but I definitely did not expect the whole bookcase to move. I hear a loud click and Alex proceeds to swing the bookshelf on its hinges revealing a very big secret room.

"Alex what the hell! How did you get this done" I say in shock looking at the girl

"Mom gave us the budget for the room didn't she and since we painted and assembled most of it ourselves we had a lot leftover. I thought this could be the perfect place for our side project" She says giving me a look and I know what she's talking about

"This is awesome Morgan," I say excitedly and step into it.

"It's just an empty space at the moment but if we get a few tables and large boards we can really focus on the investigation properly," She says stepping in alongside me

"Thank you Alex, for everything," I say spinning around to look at her.

"Hey, you're like family to me Dan, of course I'm going to help out," She says pulling me in for a hug.

"Em is at her softball game right?" I ask Alex wondering how long we have left until she and Pam are back

"Yeah, it started about 20 minutes ago" Alex replies checking her watch

"Perfect, I think that gives us enough time to set up the new place, what do you think," I ask a small grin settled on my face

"Lets do it!" Alex replies excitedly, rushing out the room and pulling the box out from under the bed that has everything we've discovered so far.

The next hour or so we spend going through it all and organising it in the best way possible, pinning together clues that link and possible leads until we've got a room with an ongoing murder investigation happening.

"This is looking pretty good if I do say so myself" Alex says as we step back to admire our work

"I'm still stumped about the drug handoff that just didn't happen," I say remembering when Alex and I spent the whole night watching Mick and waiting for the big drug trade to happen but nothing did

"Maybe they had a setback or got spooked, things happen," Alex says shrugging it off

"yeah maybe, we should get out of here before the other two get home," I say and walk out with Alex, closing the door behind us.

"that will never not be cool" I mumble to myself as Alex just laughs


	20. Jesus Parker, we need to get you to the nurse's office

The last few months have been a little crazy, to say the least, Mick has decided he doesn't want me in the house at all now, saying I'm too much of a distraction but I know he doesn't want what happened last time to be another problem.

So that means I practically live with Alex. Pam ended up buying a house and it's very nice; three stories, full backyard with a pool and hot tub built-in and plenty of room inside to keep everyone entertained.

She offered me my own room in the house but Alex and I decided we like sleeping in the same place together so we knocked down the room next door that was going to be mine and basically converted it into one huge room. We have separate sides of the room that we keep all out stuff in but a king-sized bed in the middle.

It's still being built and furnished since we decide to paint it all ourselves and wanted to add in a few cool features.

Schools have been great, Emelia has stopped having problems with bullies and her and Jack can just enjoy school as the Sophomores they are. Jaelene's still a pain in my ass but these days it's just words being said back and forth to the other, nothing since the drug incident.

It's Kelley's and Is four months coming up soon and right now we're just cuddled up on the field with a few of our teammates from both sports

"no I'm telling you, Mr Davis is definitely having an affair with Miss Jenkins" Zach says making us all burst out laughing

"you're imagining things Zach," Servando says shaking his head at our teammate who has his arm secretly around Alex's waist

"well what is this then" he declares getting out his phone and showing us a photo of the two teachers coming out of a closet looking very messy

We all just stare at in shock thinking he was joking but this is definitely after sex look for the both of them

"bro are you serious, how did you get this," I say taking his phone so Kelley and I can get a better look

"I was coming out the bathroom and saw them across from me, I already had my phone out cause I was checking if my hair was okay," He says and we all roll our eyes at the last part

"you do realise that you've basically got photographic evidence of our headteacher having an affair," Kelley says looking at Zach who's just smirking

"yep and that means I've got a free pass for the rest of school," He says smugly

"Send me that photo now," I say wanting to have a free pass from getting kicked out majorly

however, we're interrupted when the devil decides to grace us with her presence.

"excuse me boys, but why at you sitting with these, things," Jaelene says looking over at Zach and Servando

"Listen here Jaelene, we're sick of pretending to actually like you and want some real friends in this school, so just jog on will you," Serv says and Alex practically chokes next to him

"excuse me!" She says loudly

"you heard him, move along," Zach says and I've never seen her so mad before.

"what the fuck just happened," Tobin says speaking up and breaking the silence

We all just burst out laughing watching as she angrily stomps away in her Gucci shoes she's like to flex on us all with.

"You both are dead" I say but the boys just shrug their shoulders not having a care in the world about it.

The day progresses and ever since this morning, I've been getting weirder and weirder looks from students passing by in the corridor. I'm at my locker heading to the last lesson when I see Emelia full-on sprinting down the corridor and straight at me

"whoa whoa, what's the rush," I say looking at her with wide eyes

"bunch of guys coming, beat you up," She says in-between breaths

"What! When" I ask in shock but she doesn't need to answer because coming around the corner is 2 guys with baseball bats

"oh shit" I mumble and start to slowly turn around but notice there's another 2 coming that way too.

"get coach" I mumble to Emelia and see her conflicted to leave me but in the end she does and I hope she's quick

"what's up fellas, don't suppose you're just here for a chat are you?" I say to the seemingly angry boys, even though I don't know what I've done.

"don't make this hard on yourself Dan" one of the says

"no promises" I reply a smirk setting on my lips at the challenge I'm facing

The first guy runs up, his bat swinging high in the air as he tries to strike me with it, I just duck out the way and push his back so he goes flying into the lockers.

"Watch yourself big boy," I say as the guy lies on the floor holding his face

Two of them decide to double team me but I just stuck out my foot and kick one of them where the sun doesn't shine and the others bat I grab off him and hit him instead.

By this point most the hallway has gathered around and either their phones are out recording or texting their friends to get here quickly.

The last guy decides to throw his bat to one side and fight more like a man than the others. He lunges forward first, jabbing at my face but I dodge past it and sent my own attack to his face which narrowly misses.

He doesn't waste time in going again and I'm soon grabbing a hold of his leg he's just swung against my ribs. I pull his leg in hopes to get him to the floor but he hooks his foot around me and I end up going down too.

He throws a punch and gets me right on the jaw, getting plenty of reactions from the crowd, and causing me to stumble off him a little. He goes again, thinking he has the advantage, but I easily block and punch him back.

I'm about to end this guy when I feel something come into contact with my back and I roll onto the floor in excruciating pain.

"Just stay down Parker," One of them says kicking my ribs again.

The other there have seemed to recovered by now and I'm being jumped by four guys all getting in their boxing practice

"Break it up!" I hear coach shout angrily coming down the hall causing the crowd to quickly disperse

The boys all scramble off me but not before one sends a final punch to my face and coach arrives to push him off me.

"Jesus Parker, we need to get you to the nurse's office," Coach says lifting up my arm and helping me off the floor.

"Not the nurse coach, I can't go to the nurse," I say through gritted teeth as Emelia and him help me walk

"you've has just been beaten up Dan" Coach says trying to protest my request

"Coach, I say this in the nicest way possible, don't take her to the fucking nurse or things will turn to shit," Emelia says and I smirk at the younger Morgans attitude

"I'm still patching you up," He says and walks me back to his office.

I sit down and let him clean my cuts and check my ribs and back which are lucky just bruised so I won't need to sit out of sports for too long.

"can I ask why you're always turning up at school beaten or in this case being beaten up in school," Coach asks putting some tape on my cheek

"Jaelenes out for my blood basically and she'll do anything to have me leave her school" I explain just as the door is pushed open

"Dan! Jesus Em text saying you got beat up again" Kelley says coming over and grabbing my face in concern

"I'm fine Freckles, nothing that won't heal," I say grabbing her hand so she's now I'm serious.

Coach awkwardly clears his throat and we turn to look at him raising his eyebrows at us both.

"what? It's not like we try and hide it, I'm always staring at her" I say which just gets an eye roll from him.

"take last lesson off you too, I'll tell your teachers you're helping me out," Coach says to us

"Thanks coach" I reply jumping down off my seat and grabbing Kelley's hand.

"fancy some ice cream m'lady," I ask my girlfriend

"if you want some then sure," She says kissing me quickly on the lips before we head out of school and onto my bike

\- - - -

I'm back at my second home, decorating our room and waiting for Alex to get back from school when I hear the front door open downstairs

"Dan?" I hear Alex shout

"in our room!" I yell back and listen to her running up the stairs

"Hey, you okay? I heard what happened today, or should I say watched" Alex says coming into our room

"yeah I'm fine, I've had worse anyways," I say shrugging it off

"I totally forgot!" Alex gasps and chucks her back to one side

"forgot what?" I ask confused

"I might have added an extra addition to our room and they came to put it in place today," Alex says smirking at me and walking towards the bookshelf

"The bookshelf, I saw that and thought it was a nice touch, why are you so excited by that," I ask frowning

"because it's not just a bookshelf dumbass" She replies rolling her eyes and reaching forward to pull a book out.

What I expected to happen was for it to slide out and she'd show me something but I definitely did not expect the whole bookcase to move. I hear a loud click and Alex proceeds to swing the bookshelf on its hinges revealing a very big secret room.

"Alex what the hell! How did you get this done" I say in shock looking at the girl

"Mom gave us the budget for the room didn't she and since we painted and assembled most of it ourselves we had a lot leftover. I thought this could be the perfect place for our side project" She says giving me a look and I know what she's talking about

"This is awesome Morgan," I say excitedly and step into it.

"It's just an empty space at the moment but if we get a few tables and large boards we can really focus on the investigation properly," She says stepping in alongside me

"Thank you Alex, for everything," I say spinning around to look at her.

"Hey, you're like family to me Dan, of course I'm going to help out," She says pulling me in for a hug.

"Em is at her softball game right?" I ask Alex wondering how long we have left until she and Pam are back

"Yeah, it started about 20 minutes ago" Alex replies checking her watch

"Perfect, I think that gives us enough time to set up the new place, what do you think," I ask a small grin settled on my face

"Lets do it!" Alex replies excitedly, rushing out the room and pulling the box out from under the bed that has everything we've discovered so far.

The next hour or so we spend going through it all and organising it in the best way possible, pinning together clues that link and possible leads until we've got a room with an ongoing murder investigation happening.

"This is looking pretty good if I do say so myself" Alex says as we step back to admire our work

"I'm still stumped about the drug handoff that just didn't happen," I say remembering when Alex and I spent the whole night watching Mick and waiting for the big drug trade to happen but nothing did

"Maybe they had a setback or got spooked, things happen," Alex says shrugging it off

"yeah maybe, we should get out of here before the other two get home," I say and walk out with Alex, closing the door behind us.

"that will never not be cool" I mumble to myself as Alex just laughs


	21. Stay off our field you d**e, or you're girlfriend will get it next

"Tobs, we gotta run!" I shout across the pitch to Tobin.

We've just won another cup match but it's the same day as our qualifying football game to see if we can be in the running for worlds. Fortunately for us, they were both home games meaning we just need to quickly get changed and head to the other field.

I start stripping off as soon as get through the doors of the locker room, trading one uniform for others. The girls follow in behind and we get a few wolf whistles making me smirk and wink at Kelley who starts blushing like usual.

I give her a quick kiss and grab my helmet, running out with Tobin to the football field hoping the game hasn't started yet.

"has it started?" I ask Tobin as we run through the school taking the short cut route

"I don't think so, I can't hear the band yet," She says just as we push through the doors that lead to the field

"about time!" Zach says smirking at us both as we place our helmets on

"you try and play a soccer match and then run straight to a football game" I reply hitting him on the head.

We quickly gather around coach who gives us the instructions for tonight's game, basically saying to play fast and hard.

"Before we go, how did it go ladies?" He asks Tobin and I causing all heads to look our way

"oh you know other easy 6-1 win, no biggie" Tobin says and I can hear the smirk in her voice

The boys all cheer loudly for us and coach smiles, patting our helmets before sending us off onto he field, ready to play for hopefully our spot at worlds.

We make a quick huddle before starting and I give the boys a few instructions

"we keep cool heads tonight boys, no lashing out and just stick to the game plan alright," I say sternly to my boys knowing it's going to get rowdy

"I already want to kick number 5 face in" Charlie grumbles starting off behind me

"if I say you can kick his face in then you can otherwise we're here to play football, not boxing" I tell them and put my hands in the middle

"team on 3" I shout

"1,2 team!" Gets yelled back and we spread out into position doing a basic run the first play to get a feel for the rest of the game.

I yell hut and quickly receive the ball, picking my head up so to look for the possible runs of Tobin or Zach but both of them are being heavily marked and I don't have a clear throw.

The other team are getting lose from our hold and I know any second now I'm about to be pummelled to the floor. I glance over at coach at see him throwing his arms towards the other end and I know he wants me to run it.

So I do just that, my legs are already tired from the soccer match we just played and I know for sure I'm not running at my max speed but I seem to be getting past their men.

I can feel someone on my trail and I know he's going to tackle me soon so I just run it out of play, not wanting to be thrown to the floor. However, the other guy seems to have other ideas in mind and even though I'm out of play he throws me to the floor, pushing my helmet into the mud as he gets off me

"stay off our field you dyke or you'll girlfriend will get it next" He spits out as his team celebrate his tackle

"Ref! Are you kidding me, I was out of play that's a foul!" I yell at the official who doesn't want any of it.

"you good Dan?" Tyler asks offering his hand to help me up

"I know I said to keep cool heads but I don't think I will last long" I tell him, brushing off the dirt from hands

"why? What happened" He asks confused as the team all know I don't lose my head unless it's personal like Jaelene and my parents

"he threatened Kelley" Is all I say and that's enough for the boys around to know I'm going to give this game everything.

\- - - -

"Fancy humiliating them even further tonight?" I ask the boys just as the clock is about to run down

We're up by 36-6 and haven't let them get anything in the last 15 minutes, ever since the start of the game I've been wired to win this one

"it's your day Dan, tell us what you're thinking cap," Serv says patting my shoulder.

"I don't feel like running much so I'm just going to launch it," I tell the team and see them nod happily

"Tobs, it's coming to you," I say to my teammate and best friend

"you know where I'll be" She replies smirking and getting set.

Coach doesn't bother asking what the play is, he knows I'm in the game right now and doesn't want to distract me.

I yell hut and hold the ball in my arms waiting a few seconds for Tobin to run the field, she makes it into the 20 and that's when I pull my arm back to launch the ball straight into the end zone and into Tobin's hands.

I take off my helmet and meet Tobin halfway down the pitch, jumping up so we can chest bump as the boys all gathered around and end up lifting us on their shoulders while we celebrate our win and a possible place in Worlds

"next time you wanna talk trash about our teammates, do your research first," Zach says punching the guy who called me a dyke straight in the face.

I quickly hop down off the boy's shoulders and run over to break it up, not wanting to lose my main guy for any more games than necessary.

"While I appreciate you looking out for me, I need you playing with me on the field, not sitting on the bench," I say pushing him towards coach.

While he's having words about his choice of actions, I run off to the stands and see the girls all cheering loudly for us, obviously having come to watch after the game

I climb up the side and lean forward to kiss my girlfriend on the lips, one because she's hot and I've just won a game but two because it's a big fuck you to that douche bag.

"I love your kisses but that was very, intense," Kelley says trying to choose the right words

"can I not kiss my beautiful girlfriend when I feel like it?" I question playfully, a small smirk on my lips making Kelley blush

"Why did Zach punch that guy, I told him not to do anything stupid," Julie asks popping up out of nowhere

"he was sticking up for me JJ, the guy said some stuff at the start and it made most the boys pretty mad" I explain not going into detail

"what stuff?" Alex asks sounding concerned for me

"I'll explain later, right now I've got to go celebrate with the boys and Tobs," I say waving goodbye to my other teammates and heading over to coach where the team are huddled

"I don't know what was with you this game Parker but play like every time, and we can make it to Worlds" coach says and I just smile as the boys start hollering loudly

"I'll see you all tomorrow for light training, Parker and Heath you guys are excused," He says causing the boys to grow while we high five

"that's so unfair coach" Charlie whines

"do you want to play a full 90-minute soccer game and then a football one right after, I can get it arranged" Coach replies looking unimpressed

"no coach" Is all Charlie has to say and he soon shuts up.

"I'm proud of you all today, you rallied behind each other and we got a great win, one step closer to getting to worlds" coach says and we do a quick cheer before heading to the locker room

Tobin and I say bye to the boys and walk to the other fields locker room since all our stuff is still over there from our earlier game

"What did that guy say to you at the start because after that you were a completely different person, kinda scary," Tobin says to me

"He basically called me a dyke and to stay off his field or my girlfriend would get it next, I'm fine when people threaten me but if it's about the ones I love there no question I'm going to be pissed" I explain

"that makes sense, I know if anyone ever said anything about Chris I'd lose it," Tobin says and I can see her jaw clench even at the thought of it

"things you do for love hey" I sigh out getting a chuckle from Tobs

"tell me about it," She says shaking her head at me

\- - - -

"I'm back!" I shout as I walk through the door of the Morgan house

"we're in the lounge sweetie" I hear Pam shout from a distance.

I trudge my way through the hallway, dumping my stuff along the way, and walk into all the Morgan's sitting in the couch watching television.

I don't say a word but walk straight over, lying myself flat across them my head on Pam's lap and feet on Emelia while Alex is trapped under me

"I've got a feeling you're pretty tired," Pam says quietly her fingers running through my hair

"you don't say" I mumble back, the effect of playing two games in one day definitely kicking in right about now

"how about we get you to bed," she says making me groan as I roll off the three of them and onto the floor, finding it incredibly comfy right now

"I'll take her, I'm going up anyway" I hear Alex says and pulling me off the floor

"I was comfy" I whine out, having liked my position on the floor

"it will be even comfier in our bed Dan," Alex says and I trudge behind her up to our room

"night girls, sleep tight!" Pam shouts from behind us

"next time I agree to play two matches on the same day please slap me," I tell Alex walking into the room and lying face down onto the bed

"I'll make sure to remember that," Alex says chuckling at me

"I mean why didn't you just say no to playing one of the games, we wouldn't have cared if you skipped and I'm sure the boys wouldn't either," Alex says taking off my shoes

"because it was a cup game for us and if we lost that then we'd be out of the running race, and the football game was to see if we qualify for Worlds" I explain to the best of my ability, a few words are slightly mumbled but I think Alex understands me

"wait what's worlds, I've never heard of it" Alex questions pulling off my pants

"it's basically the biggest stage for all high school teams. The best teams in each country over the world compete in one major tournament" I tell her

"that's amazing, how come I've never heard of it before?" Alex asks

"because it's never been a possibility for our state let alone school. That match means we have the chance to compete but we've still got a long way to beat the rest of the country" I say and lift up my arms so Alex can take off my top

"that would be awesome if you could compete" She announces

"Hey, where'd you get that scar from?" She asks pointing to the one on my collarbone

"a bullet" I mumble flopping back down on the bed.

I hear Alex choke on the air a little and look at me in surprise, I guess I said it a little too harshly.

"y-you got shot?" She asks looking at me concerned

"It was over a year back, I was in a rough area of town and saw these guys beating up this little kid so I went to spilt it up but I got caught in the crossfire and ended up with that" I reply pointing to the small circle sized scar

"fucking hell Dan, you got shot!" Alex exclaims

"its no biggie, doesn't hurt much anymore" I reply shrugging my shoulders and closing my eyes

"I don't know whether to be surprised or not" She mumbles to herself and throws me a shirt to put on.

"that's cool, we sleep now" I whisper back feeling myself ready to pass out at second


	22. Can you hurry up please, I've got a girlfriend to go celebrate with

The few days of no new information soon turn into weeks that go on into months and out case has officially gone cold. No further clues have appeared or deals have gone down and we're really struggling to follow any new leads.

We're on the bus right now heading to the semi-final game for nationals, we've managed to win every game in the league and currently top of our table, we just want to get the one thing we never have, and that's a national championship.

I've got Kelley sleeping on my shoulder next to me while I look out the window, bored out of my brains. I glance up the bus and see Alex smiling widely at her phone probably texting Serv who finally grew some balls and asked Alex out last month.

I love them both but when they're together it can be bit much, it's the honeymoon phase right now so it should calm down eventually.

Meanwhile, my girlfriend is passed out, so counting the number of red cars that pass by is my entertainment. Just as I'm about to get to 100 something in the distance catches my eye. I look closely at it and the words that are written on the side stop me in my tracks.

"Alex!" I yell jumping up out my seat, waking a very unhappy Kelley in the process

"what!" She asks looking at me concerned

"look at the building!" I reply and she gets out of her seat to look through our side of the bus and when she finally notices she turn to gasp at me

"No way!" She exclaims pulling me in for a hug as the pair of us celebrate in the middle of the bus, jumping up and down.

"I'm really confused as to why you're celebrating over Hackley's storage unit," Ash says looking weirdly at had

"it's just some game we've got going on with my mom," Alex says coming up with an excuse.

"I'll go sit down next to Kelley," Allie says getting up out of her seat and taking mine so I can sit down with Alex

"have we seriously just figured out the last part of the name" I whisper to Alex, pure happiness on my face

"We have, I can't believe it," She says in just as much shock as me

"How did we not figure it out though, we searched the internet for places called Hackley," I say wondering why it never came up.

"We were only looking in our town though, we are a good hour away from it all so it wouldn't have come up in our search" She explains

"We need to investigate this further, maybe there are some clues at the factory that could help us, something we missed last time we went" I whisper to her

"Okay that sounds good, we'll talk about it more tonight when we get back, we're almost there now," She says and I look out the window to see the school coming up in the distance.

\- - - -

The game starts and like usual it's scrappy, the other team wanting to do anything to break our winning streak and get themselves into the finals.

They're currently on the counter-attack and I'm running back to help defend since we're very outnumbered. I watch as their striker over hits the ball allowing Hope to rush out and smoother it but the player has other thoughts and decided to slide in, hoping to get the ball some way or the other

She does get the ball but also Hopes knee and as the keeper screams out on the floor in pain I have to run past as the ball had gotten free and it's currently rolling towards the goal. I slide on the floor clearing it out and running straight to Hope

"the fucking bitch got my knee" She groans out holding onto it tightly

"is it bad?" I ask wondering if she can still play

"it's bad" Is all she replies and know she's thinking the same thing as me

I glance over at Ash on the side-lines and look down at her casted hand trying to come up with an alternative solution for the keeper-less situation we're facing.

"give us your gloves Hope," I say to the keeper

"you're going in?" She asks looking at me surprised

"it's just like catching a football right, not much more to it," I say brushing it off.

We all help carry Hope off the pitch and coach pulls me to one side handing me a new top to put on.

"think of it like football okay, you can throw it as much as you want and get it to our players. When they're on the attack make yourself as big as possible, close down the area they can shoot in, read their feet for the direction their shooting just as you would go for a tackle. Organise your backline okay, you're the quarterback and they're your defensive line, tell them where to be." Coach instructs and I listen intently, nodding my head as I take in every last word

"you've got this Parker," he says patting my shoulders and looking at me full of confidence

I slip on my new shirt and jog to the net, the whole bench cheering me on as I make my way. Kelley stops me before I can get there pulling me in for a quick hug

"we've got your back okay, go kill it" She whispers and secretly kisses my neck making me blush ever so slightly.

I look at the Captain on my backline and she nods at me, giving me a look that tells me we've got this and I really hope we do.

I don't know whether this was their plan all along to try and get Hope out but their down to ten men while we've got a first-time keeper in between the posts.

They don't waste their chances and every open shot they get, a ball is launched my way. My hand-eye coordination is pretty good so I'm fine with most calls and I've only had to make a few diving saves.

I launch the ball up the field every time, throwing it from my arms because that way I know exactly where it's going to land and each time it does, giving us a few chances to get ourselves on the scoreboard.

It's not enough though and the whistle blows signalling the end of normal time.

"we're getting chances girls but we need to bury them, look for space and drive into it," Coach says to us all.

"Parker, keep it up in goal you're doing great" Coach tells me happily

We start back up again, hoping to get a goal in one of the halves at least because I really don't want to go to penalties.

The opposition is on a counter-attack and I can see Tierna sticking by her player tightly, not giving her an inch to work with and waiting for the perfect time to tackle.

The girl goes to shoot and T sticks her foot in the way but it's not far enough because the ball hits it at a weird angle and it's coming straight towards me. I jump up into the air and quickly catch it against my chest before looking up and seeing Christen making the perfect run.

I run to the edge of my box and pull my arm as far back as I can before launching the ball up the field. The momentum of my throw brings me rolling to the floor so I can't see whether I made it or not but by the sound of the loud cheers I think Chris slotted it in.

I feel a bunch of people climb on top of me making me laugh at how excited they are. I eventually get up and Kelley jumps into my arms bet legs wrapping around my waist as I hold her up

"I could fucking kiss you right now," She says

"save it for later Freckles" I reply with a wink and put her on the floor.

The team get the ball back to the centre circle and as soon as it's kicked off the ref blows his whistle for full time and we're finally making it to the national championship final.

I run up the field to Chris and pick her up off the ground as she laughs with me

"I didn't see the goal but I know it was probably amazing," I say to the forward

"we're in the final bitches!" Ash yells running over to us

"I'm never going in goal again, it's way too much pressure," I say to the injured keeper

"no worries, I'll be as good as new for the next game," She says smiling happily and running off to probably find Ali

"how's the knee looking?" I ask the other injured keeper as she crutches her way onto the field

"bruised and a little swollen, should only be out for a couple of weeks" She replies hugging me

"you really saved our butts out there today," Hope says slinging an arm over my shoulder as I help her walk

"I'm putting it all down to football," I say causing he both to laugh

\- - - -

"Can you hurry up please, I've got a girlfriend to go celebrate with" I complain to Alex as she's getting her gear on in the car

"that's gross, I don't want to know what you and my best friend get up to," She says stepping out the car with her backpack and headtorch on

"we'll you're the one kicking me out because Servando is coming over, which reminds me, wash the sheets before I have to sleep in them the next day," I say giving her a disgusted look

"oh my God, you've got such a dirty mind" She replies storming off ahead of me.

We follow the same route as last time and end up outside the large gates where I pick the lock again. We turn on our torches and venture back into the building, hoping to find out more on our case

I help Alex through the window and find the same leaver on the wall again, pulling it down so the room has some light to it.

"Nothing much has changed since last time," Alex says looking around the place and seeing almost everything is in the same position

"you're right, let's just check out the room," I say and walk to the other end of the factory room

"this doors locked but it's not like the one outside," Alex says trying to pull on the door

"that's fine, it's pretty much the same process anyways" I reply and get to work unlocking the door.

I'm at it for a few seconds when it clicks letting me know it's unlocked and Alex pushes it open, switching on the light

"This is definitely someone's office," She says looking at the desk with a computer and files scattered around

"let's start looking, we don't want to be in here for too long" I say and Alex nods her head

We search through everything; draws, cabinets, boxes, folders, basically everything that could give us some information on this Hackley place and why a storage unit is linked to the last name of this business

"Have you found anything?" I ask still routing through pages on pages of notes

"maybe" Alex mumbles peaking my interest so I go over and have a look at what she's found

"look here, this is a transaction from the place over 20 years ago saying block 4, room 2087 was purchased for over 100 thousand dollars." She says handing me over the file to look through

"This must be where they're storing things, is there a code anywhere," I ask and start looking through the papers

"I haven't found one," Alex says looking through her own stuff until I find one page

"bingo, the code is 082790," I say and watch as Alex writes it on her hand, I take a picture of the number as well and start putting everything back to where it originally was.

"let's get going before someone comes in unexpectedly," I say and glance at the room one last time before locking the door behind and climbing back out the way we came.

If only we'd stayed a little longer and looked at that piece of paper under the keyboard, maybe we'd save ourselves from what was about to come.


	23. Some girl tried to hit on me but I said I had a girlfriend

As school comes around on Monday I'm expecting it to be another normal day of pissing off teachers and having another argument with Jaelene but as soon as I got to my locker I new it most definitely wasn't going to be.

I open up the door, planning to get my books and head to lesson but I notice a note sitting on top of a book. I smile to myself thinking its from Kelley being cute again.

I hope your girlfriend's okay xx

My heart drops to my stomach as I read what's written on it and I slam my locker shut looking around the hallway frantically. I fumble with getting my phone out my pocket and call Kelley straight away

"come on freckles, pick up" I mumble but it even really goes to voicemail just worrying me even further.

Not knowing how far Jaelene has taken it this time I don't have any time to the waste and I take off round school, ignoring the shouts from staff telling me not to run in the corridor.

I spot some of the team all gathered around Ali's locker taking so I quickly get the attention.

"We need to find Kelley now, Jaelene did something and I can't reach her" Is all I say before the team's faces drop and we're all splitting up around the school to try and look for her.

I'm running with Tobin down the English corridors when my phone starts ringing saying I'm getting an incoming call from Ash

"LOCKER ROOM! NOW!" gets shouted down the phone and I sprint off hearing the worry in Ash's voice

I run in with Tobin following behind and barge open the door to see Ash, Ali, Serv, Alex, Mal and Julie all crowded around a bleeding Kelley leaning against the lockers

"We need to go to the hospital now!" I yell seeing the state my girlfriend is in

"I don't want to go, please don't make me go" Kelley cries out and I know why she hates the hospital with a passion but I refuse to let her die

"I'm not watching the person I love die, I'm taking you to the hospital Kelley" I reply sternly crouching down the carry her in my arms

"Alex get your car ready to go" I say to her and watch as she sprints across the field and to where her car is parked

"Serv I need your to help to carry her so I can put pressure on her wound," I say and hand my girlfriend off to my best field while I press down, getting a loud scream from Kel

"I know freckles, I'm so sorry," I say not wanting to cause her any more pain than she's already in.

I glance down at her and see her eyes fluttering open and closing again.

"babe you need to stay awake for me" I say not wanting her to pass out

Serv starts to pick up the place a bit when he hears me say this and soon enough I'm climbing in the back with Ash and Ali laying Kelley across us

"go tell someone what has happened and get the team together," I tell Mal and Julie who look scared beyond belief

Alex speeds off out the car park as I wipe the hair from Kelley's face, watching it get paler and paler as I try my best to stop the bleeding

"I love you too" Kelley whispers unexpectedly

"what?" I ask confused

"you said before that you didn't want to watch the person you love die, well I love you too," She says still flashing me her gorgeous smile even if it's not very strong

"I'm sorry I didn't say it earlier, I was just scared," I tell Kelley honestly

"me too but I'm not scared anymore, I love you so much and I'm finally happy again, you making me into the person I used to be," She says weakly

"tell me this when we get you sorted okay," I say not wanting to hear Kelley giving me her goodbye speech, I can't lose another person in my life

I look over and see Ash holding onto a crying Ali while Serv keeps on glancing back at us and Alex in the driving seat.

"We need help, my friends been stabbed!" Alex shouts having parked the car right in front of the entrance and climbing out to wave someone over.

Soon enough a nurse comes out with a stretcher and they take her off us and wheel her straight into the hospital. We follow behind and far as we can until they stop us from going any further and we're left waiting in the entrance area.

We wordlessly take a seat down and I look at Alex, the words coming out of my mouth before I have a chance to stop them

"I can't lose another person, not Kelley" I say shaking my head knowing if it happens it would be the end of the world

After sitting around and waiting for news on our friend the team finally arrive from school and barge in asking us a hundred questions at once

"guys stop! We haven't heard anything since we brought her in, we're in the dark just like you" Serv says getting the girls to shut up for a second before going back to comforting Alex and I

I can tell everyone is staring at me for some sort of reaction but nothing has happened, I haven't cried, I haven't lashed out, I haven't broken down and I refuse to let myself do so

Pam and Emilia are the next to arrive and Alex leaps up out of her seat to go over and hug her mother while I pull Em into one knowing she's close to Kelley too

"How are you doing," Pam asks hugging me now

"I'm fine," I say with little emotion, Pam doesn't look convinced with my answer but she lets it slide and hugs Alex again who breaks down in her mother's arms over her best friend

If I had just sat with Jaelene on that first day and chosen to be her friend maybe we wouldn't be in the situation. I thought my life was dangerous enough with my dad's murder case but now my school enemy's are trying to kill my girlfriend!

The anger inside of me is finally boiling to the top and I storm over to the wall punching it a few times before I feel someone pull me away.

"she's fine, she's calm" Ash says as the security look to escort me out

I'm lead back to my seat where I reluctantly sit down hating the fact I can't do anything to help Kelley

"How did this even happen?" Christen asks and heads turn to look my way

"I found a note in my locker saying I hope your girlfriend is okay and I knew something was wrong, next thing I know I'm getting a call from Ash and rushing into the locker room to see her bleeding on the floor," I tell them and see most peoples faces morph into anger

"I'm going to slit that bitches throat when I next see her" Ash angrily says having to be calmed down by Ali

I'm about to reply when a doctor walks in asking for a family of Kelley O'Hara, we all quickly stand up and rush over to him wondering what her condition is

"no vital organs were hit lucky but an artery was punctured slightly which is why she lot a lot of blood" He explains and everyone lets out a sigh in relief

"she's recovering in her room and 3 people at a time can go in, she is very loopy right now too," The doctor tells us and Alex, Allie and I are the first one to go see her

We walk in and Kelley is counting her fingers repeatedly

"hey guys!" She says energetically

"how you feeling freckles?" I ask waking her and smiling at how happy she us right now

"don't tell anyone but, I think I'm on drugs" She whispers and proceeds to start giggling while the three of us look at each other laughing

"that's because you are Kel, the doctors said it's okay though," Alex says

"good, I don't want to get in any trouble," She says still whispering

"you don't have to whisper babe" I tell her amused

"I have a girlfriend who's really hot and cool and badass and sexy and she wouldn't appreciate you calling me babe," Kelley says to me causing us to burst out laughing

"Kel, that's is you're girlfriend Dan remember?" Allie says causing Kelley to gasp and turn to look at me again

"babe! Some girl tried to hit on me but I said I had a girlfriend" Kelley says looking at me proudly

"well thank you Freckles" I reply trying not to laugh as I lean forward to kiss her head

"have my mom or dad turned up yet," Kelley asks suddenly and the once happy atmosphere suddenly goes very quiet

"I know they're late sometimes but if thought they'd be here by now," She says looking towards the door.

I glance at Alex and Allie not knowing what to say back but feeling my heart break for Kelley.

"how about we go to sleep Kel and maybe when you wake up they'll be here," I say hiding the sadness through a smile

"Okay, sounds like fun" she replies unfazed by it all and closing her eyes again, quickly falling back asleep

"I'll go tell the others how she's doing," Allie says leaving Alex and I alone with a sleeping Kelley

"Alex" is all I whisper not really knowing what to say

"I know" She replies back feeling the same heart break I am right now

"has something like this ever happened before?" I question

"once. She got her wisdom teeth removed in freshman year and I was with her when she came out if it all, she asked the same thing then," Alex says sadly looking at her best friend

"I know she's never met her parents but does she know anything about them?" I ask since Kelley never likes talking about it all

"no, there's no record of them anywhere, she was left on the doorstep of the orphanage with just her name and date of birth." Alex says

"It really puts things into perspective and how lucky we are, yeah my parents aren't here but I had 10 amazing year's with them, Kelley didn't have any of that," I say sadly

"she's accepted that though, she has her own family at the home and with us guys, she now she's welcome whenever to stay over," Alex tells me and I smile slightly at her

"I do love her Alex, like an insane amount and I'm just scared to lose her, especially with all the craziness we're dealing with," I tell Alex, opening up to the person I know I can trust

"you're both as bad as each other, Kelley is always scared you're going to leave her as most people do in her life and you're scared to let anyone in and see the real you. I know for a fact if you both let down your walls a little you could really help each other" Alex tells me and I know she's right.

Kelley is the most loveable person ever, once you get to know you never want to stop talking to her, she can brighten up your day without fail and always manages to but a smile on your face even if she's not got one herself.

And I know for that reason I'm incredibly lucky that I get to call her my own.


	24. You said to not hurt her, nothing about ruining her reputation

It takes Kelley a full week before she's healthy enough to come back to school and I stayed off for three of them to take care of her back at Alex's place. Even though I wanted to stay the whole week she practical shoved me through the school doors.

The guy who stabbed Kelley was never caught and he apparently broke into the school but we all know full well Jaelene had it planned out.

She's back at school today and Tobin, Ash and I spent the whole night coming up with a plan to get back at Jaelene. Kelley specifically said to not hurt her but it doesn't mean we can't have some fun.

"is it in place" I whisper to Ash as she comes running around the corner

"I had to flirt with the new receptionist so she'd give me her combination code, don't tell Ali or we'll be planning my funeral next," Ash says making the pair of us laugh.

"here she comes," Tobin says holding my arm as Jaelene walks down the corridor with her crew

I just smile fakely at her and watch as she scoffs at me and walks straight into our trap. The three of us lean around the corner watching in anticipation.

She puts in her combination code and opens her locker door causing a spray of blue paint powder to come flying out and straight into her face

"oh my God!" She screams loudly as people passing by laugh at her

The three of us can't help but start crying with laughter, Tobin is practically lying in the floor holding her stomach as we watch Jaelene run down the corridor screaming

Once we've collected ourselves we head to find the others and I spot Kelley walking with Ali and Alex

"why has the devil just ran past us looking like a smurf?" Ali questions making us start laughing all over again

"I said to not doing anything guys," Kelley says looking unimpressed with our little payback

"you said to not hurt her, nothing about ruining her reputation" I reply and wrap my arm around Kelley's waist smiling down at her

She just rolls her eyes at me but leans up to kiss my cheek and I know she's not mad anymore.

"come on you lot, we've got soccer practise," Ash says and we all quickly run off knowing coach will kill us if we're late

We arrive in the locker room and everyone is talking about Jaelene and how she looked like a smurf running down the corridor. We told them all about how we planned it out and the team were in stitches.

"I don't want to hear any of you say anything incriminating against yourself so save the gossip chat till after practice please," Coach says as we all gather around him

"you've got to say it was a little funny" I say smirking at our coach

"I'm a teacher Parker, so now it wasn't funny," he says with a straight face and we all soon shut up

"but if I was a student I would say it was hilarious" He adds on before walking off making us all cheer loudly

"start the warmups captains," He says and I can see the smirk through the back of his head

Carli and Becky lead us through the warm-up drills like usual and we have a laugh through them the youngsters still talking about the prank we pulled this morning.

"I wasn't happy with our first time finishes last game so we're working on that today" Coach tells us and splits us into to teams if 6

The team's go a little like this:

Me  
Tobin  
Rose  
JJ  
Ash  
Allie

Becky  
Mal  
Sammy  
Alex  
Tierna  
Morgan

Carli  
Sonnett  
Hope  
Chris  
Abby  
Lindsey

Kelley's obviously not playing yet but she wanted to come and support the team, I hope she's cheering mine on or we're going to have problems

The rules of the game go like this; two teams play against each other and the most goals win but if you score a first touch goal you get double points, you've got 20 minutes each before the winning team swap with the third team.

Becky's team have a lot of the strikers since they don't have a keeper with them and it needs to be somewhat fair.

My team are up first against Carli's and I step forward to shake hands with the senior, giving her a quick smile that she gives back and we both know neither one of us is going to go easy.

Coach blows his whistle and the mini-game kicks off with Carli's team starting with the ball. I keep my holding position in midfield, making sure to watch for any running plays from the forward and stopping them from getting a touch.

Sonnett sends a perfect one over the top and I watch Chris running forward to get on the end of it but I've also got the same idea. I've got my eyes trained on the ball and at the last second I cut in front of Christen and kick the ball away clearing it out of our backline.

I didn't expect the ball to go as high and as far as it does and it reaches Tobin who's run from our half line and she buries it first time into the bottom corner.

"yes Toby!" I yell happy that we can get ahead of them early on

"I swear you two have this psychic connection that you haven't told us about," Christen says on the other team

"Nope, she's just my best friend," I say smiling at Tobin as she comes over and does our handshake

"excuse me I thought I was!" Alex says off the side of the pitch

"you're basically my sister Morgan, it doesn't count," I say and watch her smile discreetly

The rest of training goes well and we end up beating both teams by at least 3 goals each time, to say they were all annoyed by the end is an understatement. We head to the lockers to shower and get dressed for the next lesson to start.

"do you think Jaelene knows it was you guys?" Christen asks us

"I mean probably, it's not hard to figure we're the only people in the school who have the balls big enough to do something like that to her" Ash replies and I nod in agreement

"what if she snitches, you guys will be in deep shit and that'll be your second strike Dan," Julie says

"she won't say anything, we've got this unwritten rule of not snitching and I think she probably feels a little guilty for what happened to Kelley," I say looking down at my girlfriend who's sitting next to me

The team all give me weird looks at that last statement and we all burst into laughter, there's no way Jaelene has an ounce of sympathy in her body.

"can we go out this weekend, I feel like we haven't hung out in ages," Tobin says speaking up

"I'm down, what are you thinking of Tobs?" I ask

"I don't know, maybe we could head to the mall and grab a bite to eat afterwards?" She says to the group who all seem happy enough and nod their heads

"I need some new football gloves anyways," I say and grab my stuff before walking out with Kelley, Alex, Tobin and Christen to our next lesson.

Just as I'm about to head down the corridor we see Jaelene angrily storm out of the headteacher's office looking a little less blue and in a fresh pair of clothes

"I wanted to see her like a smurf all day," I say and get a high five from Tobin while the others guys raise their eyebrows in disapproval

She walks towards us and I leave a smirk on my lips causing her to glare at me but I don't care the taste of revenge is very sweet right now.

We're about to walk off when I hear another male voice in the headteacher's office, one I don't recognize.

"I don't want another call from my daughter saying she needs me to come to school" we hear getting shouted

"I promise you, sir, we'll get to the bottom of this" Mr Davis says.

The mystery man walks out with his back faced away from us, dressed in a suit and looking very important. He turns around to look in our direction and that's when I notice something

He's got a scar on his right eyebrow. He's the guys who were at my house all these months ago.

It's not only the scar that made me gulp in shock, it was the briefcase the man was holding in his hand.

On the front in writing that nobody could miss was the name Christopher Hinkle, the first letters of his name being embroiled in gold thread and giving me a clear look of his initials

The letters C and H.


	25. Is it really him? Is he the one who runs this crazy thing?

"babe? Are you okay" Kelley asks snapping me out my daze.

The girls are all looking at me concerned probably because it looks like I've seen a ghost

"y-yeah I'm fine, I'll see you in lesson" I quickly reply before walking off.

I take a quick right out of the school gates and to my usual spot behind the school where I slump down against the bricks.

Jaelene's father is the one who works with Mick and he's the boss man, Camden Hackley is an acronym for Christopher Hinkle and that means he probably knows who killed my father.

My mind seems to be racing a million miles an hour trying to process everything I've just learned. The year's of investigating my dad murder to find out who was involved and I always thought I was so far away from figuring it out but someone's been under my nose this entire time.

I pull out a cigarette from my pocket and light it up, hoping it will calm my nerves a little and clear my head slightly

"Dan?" I hear Kelley say from a distance, I flick my cig to one side and blow the smoke out my mouth

"Why aren't you going to the lesson?" I ask my girlfriend as she comes closer

"I was worried about you, I've never seen you look so, scared before," Kelley says sitting down next to me

"Jaelene's father just reminded me of someone I used to know," I tell her, hoping she'll believe the lie

"do you want to talk about it?" Kelley asks tentatively, slipping her hand into mine

"not right now" I reply and lean my head on her shoulder as we stare into the woods in front

"as much as I love sitting here with you, we really should head to the lesson," she says kissing my cheeks and standing up to offer her hands out

"I'm going to make you skip class one day," I say smiling at her

"maybe one day but it's definitely not today," She says smiling back and taking my hand as we walk back in and to the second lesson.

The whole time I don't say a word, my usual loud voice isn't heard in the classroom as my mind is stuck on what I saw this morning. I know I need to find Alex and fast.

I told Kelley I need to speak with Alex about home stuff and quickly run out the classroom trying to get to the end of her class before I lose her in the crowds. I make it just in time to see her walking out with Mal by her side

"I need to borrow Alex," I say and grab her hand pulling her away before anyone can reply

"what the hell Dan! Where are we going" She says as I look around to check if anyone looking at us

I push her into the janitors closet and lock the door behind so no one can interrupt us before turning to look at a slight angry Morgan

"I really don't appreciate you kidnapping me and then shoving me in the smallest cupboard the school has" Alex says crossing her arms over her chest

"not now Alex this is serious," I say and watch her face drop at my tone

"what's happened Dan?" She asks concerned

"you saw Jaelene's father coming out of Mr Davis office this morning right?" I ask Alex

"Yeah, of course, but what has this got to do with anything" Alex replies

"he's scare face Alex, he's the guy who was at my house a couple of months back having that meeting with Mick" I say and watch as Alex's mouth drops open

"Are you sure it was him, this is Christopher Hinkle we're talking about?" Alex says

"I'm positive Lex, he has the same exact scar in the same place" I tell her confidently knowing what I saw was right

"This is major Dan," she says running her hand through her hair, I haven't even gotten to the main bit yet

"that's not it, the briefcase he was holding has his name on it and the first two letter where embroidered in gold, and what are the initials to his name Morgan?" I question Alex

"I don't see the relevance here," Alex says still looking at me confused

"Jesus Alex his first two initials are C and H, ring a bell," I say giving up an making her guess

"I still don't understand C and H don't mean-" She says but cuts herself off and gasps at me

"no way, the CH that also stand for Camden Hackley, I just thought it was a place?" She asks covering her from shock

"I think so, what if not only is it the name for a place but also a name for a person, Christopher Hinkle to be exact, I think he's the boss of the whole operation," I say explaining it to Alex

"I never thought it could be a person, when we figured out the two places I thought that was it," she says and I can see the cogs turning in her head just like they were for me this morning

"what do we do now, this changes everything Alex," I say a little panicked

"it's going to be fine Dan, we'll figure this out together," She says placing a hand on my shoulder to try and comfort me

"I'm going to have to keep my distance from Jaelene I can't be bringing her fathers attention to me," I say reading how everything is going to have to change

"won't she gets suspicious though if you just suddenly stop, you guys have been rivals since day one," Alex says making me think

"I'll keep up the casual comments in the hallway and class but I won't be pulling any more pranks as such, nothing like today," I say trying to formulate a plan

"we'll figure it out, I promise," Alex says and I take a deep breath trying to compose myself

Shit just got a whole lot crazier

\- - - -

Alex and I head home and spend an hour or so on the murder board before everyone else comes into the home, adding in the new lead we found today and hoping it will get us a step closer to figuring the whole thing out.

We're currently in the garden having another self-defence lesson but Alex is kicking my butt today

"I think we should call it, your heads not in it," Alex says combing off me since she's pinned me down for there the third time in a row

"I know, I can't stop thinking about it," I say knowing she knows what I'm talking about

"Until we come up with a plan to approach the situation there's nothing we can do," Alex says handing me a towel do wipe my neck with

"you're right, I've just never been this close," I say and walk inside with Alex

"I understand that but if we rush it we're likely to make mistakes and slip up, that makes it easier for him to know we're onto him," She tells me

We walk into the kitchen and see Pam cooking lasagne, my favourite dish of hers

"This smells amazing Pam is there a reason my favourite dish is being cooked," I ask coming over to smell the dish

"because it's a special occasion," She says smiling at me and looking at Alex this got a smile on her face two

"you know something don't you," I say to Lex who winks and walks off somewhere

"it's not bad, I promise," Pam says and Alex comes back in with a small rectangular box

I look at it confused and lift off the lid to see a small key with a chain in it, the words Morgan family dangling off it, the same one I've seen on Alex and Emelia's key chain

"We thought it was about time you had your own key to the house and we officially invited you to become a Morgan, I know you're still a Parker but to us, your part of the family now Dan," Pam says and I'm lost for words.

"thank you guys, so much," I say trying not to cry as I pull the two in for a hug

"you guys have been the best new family I could ask for and I know for a fact my mom and dad would be happy that I've got people like you surrounding me, so thanks mom," I say making Pam start crying even more

"can every time stop crying please," Alex says sniffling along with us

we all pull away and wipe out eyes letting out a few laughs at how emotional we are.

"you two go and chill out while I get tea ready," Pam says kissing our cheeks as we head to our room.

We flop onto the bead both off us letting out a sigh making us chuckle and turn to face the other

"I'm happy you here," Alex says as I pull her into a hug

"me too Lex, you're the sister I never got," I say and feel her squeeze me tighter

"I love Em but it's nice having someone to talk to who's my age and understands what I'm feeling more," She tells me

"I know I was really closed off when we first met and I didn't want you getting involved in my messed up life but I'm thankful you did, I don't think I would've been able to do it for as long as I have without giving up" I say honestly to her

"and I'm glad I could help you, losing family is hard enough but when you don't know what happens to them it can eat you up inside" Alex says

We lie there in silence for a few seconds both of us probably thinking through it all

"Is it really him? Is he the one who runs this crazy thing?" Alex asks

"I don't know Lex but what I do know for sure is that he's involved in it all, he might have not been the one doing the deal but I definitely think he's the brains behind it all" I reply

"I need to go back home home at the weekend and collect the rest of my stuff, are you okay to drive me?" I ask Alex hopefully

"of course, I'll wait in the usual spot for you," She says and I smile at her thankfully

"do you miss them at all, Mick and Brittney?" She asks causing a look of confusion to spread across me face

"not one bit, they were horrible people," I tell her wondering why she would ask something like that

"you're right, you shouldn't miss someone who destroyed your family" Alex mumbles and it clicks in my head why she did

"Alex is perfectly normal to miss your dad, he was still your father for 17 years and even though he did bad things he was still there for you growing up," I tell her

"he left us for another family and made us live with hardly enough money for food on the table while he lived this secret lavish life. I mean he almost killed mom if it weren't for you stopping him" Alex sighs out sounding conflicted with herself

"it takes time Lex, you don't just get over something major like that quickly, it took my years to come to terms with my mom passing, some days are harder than others but I know she's at peace up there," I say looking to the sky

"I just wish I could forget about him altogether, I don't want anything to do with the man" She tells me

"are you going to change your name?" I question

"no, mom says she's made a name for herself with it and she doesn't want one person mistakes to ruin everything achieved and she's right, I want to bring pride when people say the name Morgan" She tells me and I look at her proudly

"well I love the name Morgan, all my favourite people have it," I say getting a small chuckle out of her

"Girls! Dinners ready!" Pam shouts up and I jump out of bed and bolt out the door wanting this best price of lasagna before Alex


	26. This is probably the best day of my life and nothing can change that

"have you ever thought about your future much?" Kelley asks as we sit at our spot underneath the tree at school

"I don't think I have, I've always been more of an in the present type of person," I say not knowing what to say since the last 3 years I've been so focused on my dad's murder

"I've been thinking about it a lot recently" Kelley admits to me

"what part exactly" I ask

"College mostly, I really want to attend Stanford its been my dream school since I was little" Kelley says making me chuckle

"why are you laughing?" She asks me confused

"that's the school my mom went to, she'd always tell me stories about all the things she got up to when she was there," I tell Kelley who turns to listen closely knowing I don't talk about my mom or dad much

"What did she say it was like?" Kelley asks me

"she said it was like going to a holiday camp for 4 years, the best thing she ever did. She joined as many clubs as she could and actually played softball there, their best player in Stanford history apparently." I tell Kelley a small smile on my face as I ever the time's mom would tell me stories about it all

"I never knew your mom played a sport, did she carry it on once she left?" Kelley asks

"no she didn't, she met my dad in her last year and when she graduated she found out she was pregnant with me, dad was already working for his company so she quit everything to raise me" I explain

"that must have been hard for her to do, stop her life just like that" Kelley says

"she was always such an ambitious person but family came first so if it meant her getting a job or looking after me it would always be the latter," I tell her.

"do you think you'd want to go to college too, like your mom?" Kelley asks

"maybe, it's something I've never put much thought into really," I say honestly wondering if it is something I could do.

I'm clever enough to get in and I play sports so maybe I could get a sports scholarship too. What if we haven't solved everything by then, I can't go off to college and forget about everything I've worked so hard on.

"Dan! You're going to be late!" I hear Zach shout from behind me, I check my watch and see the game is starting in 20 minutes and I've completely forgotten about it

"coach is going to kill me," I say collecting all my stuff up off the floor

"good luck babe, I'll be cheering you on," Kelley says kissing my cheek as I run off with Zach.

I meet Tobin in the locker room who throws me my pads and helmet having opened my locker to get them ready for me.

"you do realise how big of a game this is right" Tobin says to me as I try my best to change quickly

"yes I do Tobin, I was trying to keep calm with Kelley and lost track of time" I tell my wide receiver who's currently glaring at me

"Okay I'm ready, let's go," I say and run out to the boys who are all warming up.

I throw the ball back and forth with Serv, warming up my arms and we do quick sprints and basic passes, nothing to tire us out too quickly

"This is the game lads, we win this and we've got another national championship under our belts but we've also secured a place at worlds. This is something every payer dreams about doing so we go out there and play like it's our last time, everything you have goes into today" Coach tells us seriously, we all nod in an agreement wanting nothing more than to be the team representing the USA at worlds

"team on 3" I shout putting my hand in the middle as the team follow

"1, 2, team!" Is yelled back and we all clap out hands together before running onto the pitch.

Play this game like it's you're last Dan, make your parents proud

\- - - -

"come on, come on Tobs" I mumble to myself watching the ball twirl through the air and hoping Tobin can catch it and give us the lead.

The boys all around me follow the ball with their eyes too and I hold my breath when the ball drops to Tobin's hands. And of course like every other time, she catches it flawlessly and runs into the endzone.

"Yes Tobin!" I shout pumping my fist into the air

"if we score this conversion we'll be three points ahead," Zach says as we run up to celebrate and get ready for the kick.

Tobin's the one taking it obviously since she's got the best kick out of us all and we wait for her to get ready and have the ball placed down. I'm the one catching the ball and Charlies throwing it to me.

"hut!" I yell and receive the ball off Charlie who throws it perfectly I place it down and hold it with my fingertip.

Tobin's boot connects with it and I stand up watching it fly through the posts and giving us the lead with the clock almost running down.

"I fucking love you Tobin Heath," I say grabbing her helmet as she laughs at my excitement

"keep it tight now guys, we're guarding with our lives," I say to the people who can hear me over the shouts from the crowds.

The other team get ready to set play again and I hear coach talking in my ear

"What's the plan Parker?" he asks me

"guard like our life depends on it coach" I reply and see him smirk off on the sides

The ref blows the whistle and the other team starts to play, I keep my eyes open for any loose men and spot their centre getting out of Charlies hold, I watch the way the quarterbacks feet are placed and see him angling toward that player.

Knowing the balls being thrown that way I take off full speed trying to get the interception. I leap in the air and manage to get a fingertip to it, successfully pushing it out of the player's path where Jack is able to scoop it up.

The team runs to me and celebrates the stop and soon enough the end of the game arrives giving us the National Championship and a place at worlds.

The whole crowd rush onto the field to celebrate with the team and I spot Kelley running at me head-on. I take off my helmet and put it to the ground before catching Kelley who wraps her legs around my waist and pulls me in for a heated kiss

"I'm so fucking proud of you babe," She says smiling down at me

"thanks freckles" I say and pull her in for another kiss

We separated after a while not wanting to get too heated in front of the entire school and I run at Tobin picking her up and spinning her around.

"We did it Tobs! We're going to Worlds baby" I yell excitedly getting a laugh out of the team that is around

Serv runs over with Alex around his waist and Zach does the same with Julie.

"Are we heading to the diner after this?" Zach asks, looking at me

"of course, tradition my friend," I say hitting his shoulder pad

"maybe Rick will give us extra ribs for the win tonight," Zach says high-fiving Serv in excitement

"we're dating pigs," Julie says to my sister causing the whole team to laugh

All the couples say goodbye to their partners and we head into the locker room, grabbing the champagne, alcohol free mind you, we kept behind to celebrate this win tonight.

Everyone open theirs up and we start jumping around the place spraying each other with the alcohol and being as loud as we can, maybe to piss the other team off a little bit because we're going to fucking Worlds so.

We make sure to save a bottle for when coach comes in knowing he'd try to be smart and wait for us the waist it on each other but we know him too well by now.

He walks in through the door and we erupt into cheers again pushing him into the middle of the circle as we jump around him singing 'we are the champions!'

After we settle down a bit and let the man have an actual conversation with us he starts his speech

"I'm so proud of each and every one of you tonight, we went out and played with our hearts and that's all I could've asked for and what did we get from it? Another national championship and a place at fucking Worlds lads!" He screams getting us all hyped again

"We go to New York and represent our country and win another medal, I fully believe in this team and what we can do!" He says

"Coach is right, I know I haven't been here as long as some of you but you guys have become my second family, I know you have all got my back just as I've got yours. I never thought I'd be able to play this sport but you guys and coach let me fulfil my dreams and now I'm going to World, something our state has never even done. We making history boys!" I say to my teammates

"and one last thing coach" I say looking at the man who seems confused.

I slide out the way and Tobin pops the bottle of champagne spraying it all over him making us start cheering and shouting all over again.

\- - - -

"To Dan, the best captain we could ask for, she is for making our childhood dreams come true" Serv says standing up to raise a glass for me

"To Dan!" The whole table shouts back and gets to eating their meal.

I feel Kelley slip her hand in mine and I rub small circles on the back of her knuckles.

"I love you freckles," I say and give her a slow kiss on the lips

"I love you too baby" She replies smiling at me and turning back to eating her for.

I look down the table and see my girls and guys all chatting and laughing with each other something that nobody would've imagined at the beginning of the year but people changes and here we are.

This is probably the best day of my life and nothing can change that.

Nobody's POV

"Get to work faster!" Christopher shouts from inside his office at his loyal workers

"what's going on boss" Mick asks stepping into the guy's office

"we've just been sent a new order through and it's our biggest yet," Christopher says handing over the slip to his man

"half a trillion dollars! Is this for real!" Mick asks in shock

"it most definitely is Mitchell, and when we pull it off I'll the wealthiest drug dealer in America" Christopher says with a sickening smirk in his face as he plans out the biggest deal he's ever done.


	27. I've been doing this for over 3 years Alex, imagine how I feel

"Have you got everything we need, this can't go wrong Parker?" Alex says somewhat panicked as she sits in the driver's seat of her car

"Morgan chill out please, I've got it all planned out you just need to smile and nod your head okay?" I say trying to calm her nerves down.

Alex and I are currently driving up to Hackley's storage unit in hopes to find out more about what Christopher Hinkle is keeping in here. We told everyone else that we're going to visit my parents grave so they know not to call us anytime soon.

"what do you reckon he's keeping in here, it has to be a large amount of stuff if he needs a place like this" Alex says to me

"I don't have a clue, I don't think he keeps his drugs in here but it could be important plans that need to be kept away from people," I say as more of a question than answer

"how has it been with Jaelene by the way?" Alex asks making conversation

"hard! I never knew how difficult it is to refrain from doing something to her before now. I swear every time I hear her breath I want to slap her into next week" I say earning a chuckle from Alex

"I myself miss listening to you roast the shit out of her sometimes but we know we can't anymore," Alex says turning seriously

"I know Alex, I'm not jeopardising everything for some snotty bitch who has daddy issues," I say

We arrive at the huge building and Alex and I climb out of the car before walking into the very professional looking building. I lead Alex to the receptionist first

"hey, how may I help you ladies" The woman behind the desk asks

"we're looking to rent out a unit?" I say confidently

"Okay, may I ask what for," She says looking at us weirdly probably because we are so young.

"We own part of a company and we need a large space to store our items, that won't be a problem will it?" I say keeping my ground

"not at all, is there a specific size you'd like, we go up by 5 feet all the way to 40" the woman explains, I go to reply but Alex beats me to it

"I think 20 would be the size we are looking for," Alex says flashing a smile

"that's fine, we have a couple free that we can show you too?" she says

"that would be great, thank you," I say and the woman gets to the thing on her computer before someone come over and offered to take us there.

"Why did you say that size?" I whisper to Alex as we follow behind the man

"just trust me," She says back and we smile at the man who turns to glance at us.

"This is the first one, it has more insulation than the others if that's something you're looking for" The guy explains

"not really necessary with what we want to be storing," I say and let him lead us to the next.

"This has a built-in heating and cooling system to keep your contents at the perfect temperature" He explains and I shake my head no

"that's not necessary for us either," I tell him and he nods his head in understanding before walking off again.

"This is you're most standard room, has a ventilation system so mould doesn't become an issue," He tells us lifting up the door to show us the room

"that's really important for these items of clothing," Alex said pretending to be interested in the place

"do you mind if we have a think about it, talk through our options for a second?" I ask the guy sending him a kind looking smile

"of course, I'll wait for you around the corner," He says

"oh no it's alright, you can go back to what you were doing, give yourself a break, we can find our way back easily," Alex says to the conflicted guy

"I really shouldn't leave you guys alone," he says looking around the place

"it's not like we're going to rob anything, there's nothing in here to take," I say gesturing to the empty room with a sarcastic laugh

"well okay then, I can't give you longer than 15 minutes though," He says and we wave goodbye keeping a smile on our face until he turns the corner

"we need to find his unit and fast" I say to Alex turning serious

"don't worry, we're close by, why do you think I asked for 20 feet by 20" She says smirking at me while I follow behind her

"remember his unit number is 2087 in block 4, the beginning two numbers are the size of the place and the second two are how many in the place. Look this is block 4" Alex says stopping in front of a long corridor.

"let's go then," I say and the pain of us jog down the corridor, looking at the numbers next to each door until we reach 2087.

"you've still got the code right?" I ask Alex and she pulls out a piece of paper with it on

"yep, it's 082790," she tells me and I type the numbers into the keypad hoping that it will work for us.

I take a step back and the red light turns green before we hear a clicking noise letting us know it's unlocked. We look at each other for a second both of us in shock that it actually worked and lean down to lift up the door.

"holy shit," Alex says as we look at what's inside

"This is a lot of stuff," I say.

The place is practically full to the brim with boxes upon boxes stacked upon each other all sealed tightly

"How are we going to look through them without him noticing the boxes have been opened" Alex questions

"This happens to be my speciality," I say smirking to her.

I grab the first box off the top and turn it upside before peeling away the seals that are held together by glue until it opens up.

"and when we're done," I say pulling out my lighter to show her

"you just heat the glue back up again and stick it back together," I say smiling proudly

"do I want to know why you have a lighter handy on you," Alex asks to which I just shake my head no to.

"We need to get to work, start looking through them quickly, we've only got about 10 minutes," I say and we start getting to work

Peeling back boxes to find countless backs of drugs, all empty and just the shells but this is clearly where he keeps his supply.

"Have you found any clues or anything?" I ask Alex chucking her the lighter to close up a box

"Nothing, it's just more and more drugs," She says throwing it back once she's done.

"ugh we need to get going Alex, we're going to have people looking for us soon," I say closing up the last box and placing it where I found it.

"let me take some photos of behind them and we'll get going," Alex says and I let her snap away for a few seconds before pulling her out and closing the door

we walk out the building, smiling at the receptionists and telling her well be in contact soon to sort it all out and climb back into Alex's car 

"I don't know if that was helpful at all" Alex says rubbing her forehead

"any bit of evidence is useful, we know where he makes the drugs and where he stores the supplies for them, we just need to figure out his buyers and where he's buying all the supplies from," I say looking at Alex

"I know, I just thought that would be a big breakthrough for us, I mean we basically know the guy who runs it all," she says throwing her hands up in frustration.

"I've been doing this for over 3 years Alex, imagine how I feel" I say as we make the journey back to our town

\- - - -

Alex pulls up to my old home and drops me off while she waits at the other street so I can go in and collect the last of my belongings.

I open the door quietly and take the route on the floorboards that makes the least amount of noise, I'm about to head up the stairs when I hear Mick on the phone to someone, sounding very serious

"It's gone too far Daniel, I watched a kid kill himself today, it's too much," Mick says making me wonder what the hell he's on about

I don't stick around to listen any longer and quickly creep to my room, taking out the last of my clothes and the hidden box of my belongings in the wardrobe. When I know the coast is clear I sprint out the house and down the side alley where Alex is waiting at the other end for me

"got everything?" She asks as I throw it in the back seat

"that's the last of it" I sigh out

"you didn't run into Mick did you?" Alex asks scanning my body for any injures

"no he was on the phone, I did overhead him say something strange though. He said it had gone too far and he watched a kid kill himself but I don't know what he was talking about" I say looking at Alex, hoping she can make sense of it

"What's gone too far though," She says thinking out loud to herself

"maybe the drug operation?" I say trying to think of ideas for the weird phone call

"it could be, I really think we need to figure out what these drugs are, there's no way they're just your normal pills, there's got to be something about them that makes them sell so much," Alex says and I hum in agreement.

"we'll have a look at the board tonight and see if we've missed anything," I say just as Alex drives us back home.

We drive up the hill and through the front gates of the house, Alex parks the car in the garage and we walk inside to see Pam and Emelia at the dining table.

"I think you need to find the y first, or maybe it's the x," Pam says looking over something of Em's

"ugh you're no help mom, there is no way I'm passing this exam" Emelia groans out throwing her head back

"girls! How did it go today?" Pam asks coming over to give me a big hug

"It went really good actually, I talked to them both about it what's been going on in my life," I tell Pam who smiles happily at me

"I'm happy for you sweetie, dinner will be ready shortly I'm just trying to help your sister with her homework," She says glancing back at a struggling Em

"yeah and you're being no help, you're just as useless as me," Emilia says making Alex and I laugh

"you want to ask brain box over here, she's better than Kelley," Alex says pointing to me

"Please, I'll pay you to help, anything to pass this stupid test," Em says turning around to practically pleading with me

"Em you don't need to pay me, I'll be more than happy to help" I say laughing at her desperation

I spend the next hour or so trying to explain the parts she's struggling with and another way of remembering it that what she's been taught and by the time our dinners ready we've gotten through most the work

"Can you please teach my class, I swear I've learnt more in the last hour than Mr Griffin has taught me all year?" She says making us all laugh

"I already don't have enough time with soccer and football but if you're stuck just come find me alright," I say ruffling up her hair

"by the way girls, I've got to go away this weekend for everything with my lawyer so I'm leaving you alone, is that alright?" Pam says

"that's fine mom, we'll just have a girly night" Alex says glaring at me and Emelia to not say anything

"perfect! Thank you for understanding" She says while Alex and I look at each other thinking the same thing.

It's time to have a party!


	28. I'm proud of you baby, I know you find it hard to open up

We're sitting in the student lounge with the team's just chatting about school and life when Alex speaks up

"by the way guys, Dan and I have a free house this weekend so who's down for a party slash hang out kind of thing?" Alex says making everyone cheer loudly

"just the teams though, I don't want Jaelene anywhere near our house," I say to everyone

"fine by me, she ruins all the events we go to anyways," Charlie says making us laugh.

"perfect, come for 7 on Saturday, we need to get the place ready and bring cosies," Alex says looking at me

"Everyone is going to be so jealous," Ash says high fiving Zach across the couch.

Saturday morning rolls around and I'm helping bring Pam's bags to her car before she leaves for the weekend

"you're all ready to go mom," I say smiling and giving her a hug, still getting used to calling her mom

"stay safe for me okay, call if there are any problems" She says and gives Emelia and Alex hugs too before we wave goodbye as she drives off.

"I'm heading to Jacks!" Em tells me running up to her room the second mom's car is out of sight.

"pack condoms!" I yell back with a smirk only to he slapped on the arm by Alex

"I was only joking, Jesus" I say rubbing the spot she hit

Em comes back down a few seconds later, bags in her hand and waving at us as she walks off out of the house.

"goodbye to you too" Alex says sarcastically rolling her eyes at the younger Morgan's attitude.

"What are we getting for this party tonight?" I ask Alex

"I ordered some things last night like lights and inflatables and stuff for the outside area, we just need to get some alcohol now which is going to be hard," She says scratching her head.

"I've been able to get served since I was 16, it's not a problem, let me go change and we can head out" I say smiling smugly at Alex as we head up to my room

"Why are you even getting alcohol at 16 Dan," She asks but I decide to not answer that one and route through my wardrobe.

I get changed into a low cut tank top that shows off my tattoos and abs and put on some shorts and vans before adding a snapback and sunglasses just to make it fit together.

"Okay I see it now, the tats and ab definitely sell it for you," She says looking over my outfit.

"Go to the one of 2nd avenue, the cashier is definitely gay," I tell her and the pair of us get into her car and drive off to buy some alcohol.

She parks the car outside and I tell her to wait there knowing I'll be in and out in less than 5 minutes. I walk in through the door and slowly take off my sunglasses placing them on the neck of my tank, I head over to the bottles and pick up some vodka and wine before heading to the counter and placing them in front of her.

"Just these please love," I say not breaking eye contact with her.

She picks up the items and the whole time doesn't break contact with me, scanning the bottles and placing them back down.

"keep the change," I say placing a 50 down and winking at her before collecting my items and walking off.

I climb back into the car with a smirk on my face as Alex stares at me in shock.

"How the fuck did you just do that, you weren't even 2 minutes," She says checking her watch

"I can't be spilling my secrets! Come on we've got more stuff to get first" I say laughing at her expression as we drive to the next store.

After 2 hours off shopping we ended up spending almost a thousand dollars on food, drinks and party stuff for tonight but home of us cared, we were going to make this the best party in years

"you're going to have to do the lights, I can't reach that high" Alex says as we hand the lights outside near the pool

"There are these things called stool you know Morgan," I say sarcastically

"But why use them when I have my own slave" She replies before walking off smugly

I get the outside organised while Alex sort inside, basically moving all the valuables up to our room and locking it off to everyone, I'm not taking a chance for Serv and Zach to break something.

Before we know it the punch is made, there's food on the table and the doorbell is ringing.

"hey Freckles," I say happily, opening up the door to reveal my very hot looking girlfriend standing at the entrance

"w-what are you wearing?" Kelley stutters her face going bright red as she looks me up and down

"shoot, I forgot to change from earlier, I need to get served so I wore this," I say and can't help but notice Kelley's blanked out state

"Kel?" I ask causing her head to snap up at me

"you're not allowed to wear anything other than that outfit ever again," She says walking into the house and straight past me

"Hello to you too," I say chuckling to myself at her behaviour

After everyone has arrived and gotten themselves into the party mood with plenty of alcohol, minus Rose, Mal and Tierna, there all too young to be corrupted yet, we head outside.

most the girls get straight into the pool and all form a circle, drinks in their hands as they gossip about who knows what while the rest of us stay on the grass throwing a ball around between each other listening to the party tunes being blasted over the speakers

"you're house is sick Dan, I never knew you lived here" Charlie says speaking up

"its not really my house, its Alex's but I basically live here so she says it's mine too" I tell them throwing the ball to Zach  
"its not really my house, its Alex's but I basically live here so she says it's mine too" I tell them throwing the ball to Zach

"if you don't mind me asking how come you live with her" He says nervously making me chuckle

"you good Zach, you all know I don't have parents well my dad remarried before he died so I have a stepmom and she's got a boyfriend, their both dicks who treated me like shit" I explain catching the ball thrown at me

"I'm sorry dude, that sucks," Jack says sympathetically

"Nah I'm all good, I love it here with the Morgan's and I call Pam my mom now anyways so I've got a new family," I say smiling to the boys who have really opened their hearts up

Everyone always saw them as bullies because they hung around with Jaelene but they just did it because it was what society expected, if you get to know them all they are the biggest softies you'll ever meet.

"well this place is going to be an upgrade from anywhere, I never knew Alex had this much money," Zach says making me laugh

"it was a shock to us all when we found out too, trust me," I say joking with them

The boys and I soon jump into the pool too, wanting to cool ourselves from the late-night heat. I swim up behind Kelley wrapping arms around her waist and resting my chin on her shoulder

"hey baby, did you have fun throwing around with the boys" She asks spinning around to face me

"I did thanks Freckles, talked about some stuff as well" I say and I know she knows what I'm talking about

"I'm proud of you baby, I know you find it hard to open up," Kelley tells me, placing her arms around the back of my neck and pulling me in for a kiss

My arms snake around her lower back and instinctively pull her closer to me, wanting to kiss her forever but we're interrupted by water being splashed on us

"stop sucking at my best friends face" Alex says glaring at me

I just roll my eyes at Alex's usual behaviour but let Kelley down so I'm behind her again and we re-join the conversation.

"Dan you'll know this" Julie says turning to look at me

"Zach was telling me that you guys are going to worlds but I have no clue what it means and I asked him to explain which was pointless," She tells me

"think of it like in soccer, instead of having a national team with the best players from all over competing for the world cup, it's only the best team in your country that go. There's not enough time in the schedules for us to have a national camp as such and all of this stops after high school anyway." I start to explain to the girls around me

"Basically, we won the most games this season and had the best record plus winning nationals, all meant that we were the top team in the whole of the USA and the team who will be competing for them at worlds. Every country puts forward one team and it works just like a world cup does from then on" I say and see the girls all looking really interested

"It's happening in New York this year and I'm trying to already convince mom to let me go for the month," Alex says

"You seniors should have finished school by then," I tell the older ones who are graduating this year

"that would be awesome to go watch," Carli says as the girl's nod along.

"We should head inside, I really don't want to become any more of a prune," Alex says lifting her hands out of the water to show us her wrinkles fingers

"The food should be done by now too," I say and I swear I've never seen people move so quickly in my life.

We all get inside the house and dressed in clean clothes before demolishing all the food we bought, I think Alex and I forget we are all athletes here

Once the food has gone down we decide to get the party aspect of the evening started and get the music blasting around the house. I walk up behind Kelley and wrap my arms around her as she starts swaying her hips with mine

"I'm going to take you on a date soon" I say kissing the side of her neck

"really, where do you plan on taking me then," She says and leans her head slightly to one side allowing me better access

"oh you know, a nice walk in the trail, maybe to a restaurant afterwards and maybe the final destination being my bed" I say into her neck and I can feel the goosebumps appear on her skin.

"hmmm, I wouldn't be opposed to that" She replies and finally spins around so I can kiss her deeply.

The mix of alcohol in our systems making the whole room spin a little more than it should but I can't help stare down lovingly at Kelley wanting to stay like this forever

"Someone turn on the news!" I hear Zach shout loudly, stopping the music

"what why?" Alex asks grabbing our remote and turning the TV on confused.

"there's been a killing" Is all he needs to says for us to have our eyes trained on the screen, forgetting all about the party we're having

"you're joined here with me live at the crime scene tonight, it appears that a man by the name of Mitchell Pierce has appeared to have gone on a killing spree and murdered nine other people, one reportedly being his girlfriend, Brittney Parker of four years, before he then ending his own life too. Stay tuned to find out more on this horrific event" The news lady says into the camera

I stand there unsure of what to do with myself my eyes locked onto the screen but I'm not even watching it anymore.

Mick and Brittney are dead.


	29. You can't keep this up Dan, pushing us away, we're trying to help you

I wake up to my alarm clock blaring loudly next to me, I groan and pull my pillow over my head trying to drown out the noise that seems to be making my ears bleed

"Alex turn it off" I mumble out through the pillow before realising she's not here

Right, I'm back at my old house living by myself again. It's been a month since the murders and I've shut everyone out, I left the Morgan's the next day and came straight here back to the empty household that had been flipped on its head by somebody

If Mick and Brittney can be killed I'm not risking anyone else's life too. I know everyone says that Mick was the one to do it but I don't believe that, he wasn't a crazy man or unstable, he was logical and well thought out, I mean he's managed to get away with countless murders before so why would he go on this killing spree now?

And also, why would he kill himself, he was part of a major drug operation making millions of dollars. Nothing added up with it all and I need answers

I know someone out there killed them and even though I despised the pair they were still in my life for a long time. It's something I can't just ignore as much as I want to.

I turn up to school some days and don't say a word to anyone, I get sympathetic looks from students and also a lot of angry scowls for what they think Mick did to the people of this town.

At the start, I brushed it off because I knew everyone was just trying to pin the blame on someone who is still around but I'm fed up now, so whenever someone says something I just threaten them until they shut up.

The team have tried their best to get me talking and involved with them again but I refuse to let them in. I did it once and God knows what could have happened if someone knew I was close with them, I have made too many enemies in my life.

I only turn up for sport and when I do I block everyone out and basically get all my anger out on the sport, I've smashed a couple of bats too but coach doesn't know that yet

It hurt the most to shut out Kelley and Alex out, it kills me to ignore the pair because they're the most important people in my life but I just can't take the risk. I do miss Pam's cooking and the little bickering lex and I used to do. I miss the last second dates I would drag Kelley on or our late night star gazing adventures.

I'm trying to still investigate my dad's murder but with everything back at Alex's it's proving to be more and more difficult over time.

I set my alarm to wake me up just before the sun goes down because I'm going back to the crime scene where it all happened now that there's less police around surveilling the place. Hopefully, it will give me some answers I'm desperate for

At some point, I need to figure out a way to break into the coroner's office and have a look at the autopsy, maybe that will give me a few clues to what happened as well.

I put on some joggers and an oversized hoodie and cap before heading out of my old house and walking to the scene down the street. The streets are barren like always, the cold winds blowing what debris is left on the almost abandoned street. The whole town has almost come to a standstill when it happened, most people struggling to wrap their heads around the fact something as horrific and gruesome could happen here.

I arrive and it seems there's no one here at the moment so I start looking around, any clues that could give me some indication of what happened because I know full well the police were paid off.

I climb through the broken window and met with an eerie darkness, you could hear a pin drop in here. I get my phone out and turn on the touch giving me a better look at the place.

You can see where all the murders happened because there's a square on the floor of cleaned stone, clearly where they've washed away the blood with bleach and water. The news said that he committed suicide away from them all though so I need to look around

I venture further in and start looking for anything odd or out of place, I'm not expecting to find anything really because, by the smell of it in here, the place has been doused in bleach.

Something catches the corner of my eye though and I spin around to see a pillar in the middle of the building with an odd-looking colour on it. I walk closer, shining my light at in, and notice it's not just a different colour but its blood.

I start quickly snapping some pictures of it and get a closer look. Why is there blood over here when the crime scene is clearly a good 20 feet away, this doesn't add up, maybe this is where Mick killed himself.

I look at the blood splattering closer and notice it's spread out quite far, too spread out to be a self-inflicted wound as the person would have to be a good 7 feet to get this distribution of blood.

If this is where they're saying Mick killed himself then that's not right, someone killed him just as I thought.

My thoughts seem to interrupted by noises coming from the distance, I quickly stand up to try and get out but it's too dark and I can barely see where I'm going.

Bright lights are suddenly shone in my face, practically blinding me

"we're the police, you can't be here," These guys say and I look at their all-black outfits and lack of badge to decide they're most definitely not cops.

"I'm sorry sir, I was here for a history project we're doing about modern crime, wanted to get the best grade you know," I say coming up with a quick lie on the spot

The two men look at each other for a few seconds while I stand there a little nervously wondering what's about to happen

They clearly didn't believe my lie as they both lunge forward and roughly grab me by the shoulders and pushing me out the building.

"Alright guys I'm leaving!" I yell out shrugging their hands off me.

They stand there angrily with their arms crossed as I straighten up my clothes again. I go to turn my body away but spin back unexpectedly to deck one of them in the face for good measures.

I may have misjudged their speed because I go to run away but the other guy quickly pulls my shirt back and sends me to the floor. Soon enough I'm being kicked and punched as I curl up on the floor trying to protect myself.

They finish me off with a final blow to the stomach and leave me gasping for air on the sidewalk. I can hardly move my body and I know I need help, this isn't something I can just patch myself up from.

I reluctantly get my phone out my pocket, seeing the screen smashed, and call Alex. The phone rings for a couple of seconds

"Dan? What's up are you okay?" Alex asks probably not expecting mine call.

"No, crime scene, quick" Is all I manage to get out before my head starts spinning in circles and I pass out on the floor.

\- - - -

"I don't know Kelley, I haven't talked to her either remember" I hear Alex say wherever I am.

I peel open my eyes and notice I'm in a hospital bed, wires attached to my body, I try to move in hopes to get in a more comfortable position but that turns out to be a mistake and I hiss loudly getting the attention of the two people in my room.

"Dan! you're awake" Alex says running over to my side as Kelley stays where she is off in the distance

"Why the hell did you go there Dan, it was so stupid," Alex says scolding my

I just shrug my shoulders in response not feeling like talking to her at the moment, I can't tell her what I know.

"you can't keep this up Dan, pushing us away, we're trying to help you," Alex says sounding hurt.

Nobody says anything for a while and I wouldn't be lying if I said I expected Kelley to come up and give me a hug but I suppose that's what you get when you ignore someone for a month

"Alex is right, you're not going to do this anymore. For the last month, I've given you your space to work this all out and them come back to us, but tonight proved that you'd rather get yourself killed" Kelley says

"it's better than getting my friends killed" I reply coldly

"What do you want me to say Dan! Do you want me to tell you everything's going to be okay? Guess what, it won't be. You're not the only one affected by this, we all make decisions about our safety. We chose to get involved in you're life Dan, to try and help you. What happened is not on you so stop with this hogging of the blame thing you're doing. You've gotta carry on living life as we do, innocent people died, people who we cared about died, move on" Kelley says to me

And I know everything she's saying is right, I hated them with a passion but a part of me is angry I let them die like that. I'm blaming myself for something I had no control over

"what do I do now?" I ask Kelley, giving up on my tough act

"You've got to figure that out for yourself Dan, and until you do, I can't to be with you anymore," Kelley says and walks out of the room.

"what have I done Alex?" I ask my sister turning to look at her giving me a sympathetic look

"You just ignored her for a month Dan, you did the one thing that you promised Kelley you wouldn't do, you left," Alex says simply

Kelley's thing has always been people just walking in and out of her life like she was nothing, she'd care about them and them and then they'd just leave.

It had happened with previous foster families and friends which is why she was so hesitant to start going out with me at the beginning, she didn't want to get herself hurt.

And I've just realised how much I fucked this up, I pushed away from the one person that was always there for me and I did the one thing I promised her I would never do. I left.


	30. Are you kidding me Morgan! I'm shitting one right now

After Kelley laid into me the other day and gave it to me real I realised how shit of a friend I had been. I know I wanted to protect them all but how can I do that if I'm not around.

My first step is going to the boys, I've been a shit captain especially with Worlds around the corner they need me to be on my best form.

We're having practice this morning and I asked coach in advance if I could speak with the boys before training starts. I wait until they are all in the locker room before standing up

"first of all I want to apologise to you, I've been a shit captain, friend, teammate and all-around person lately and I've got no one else to blame for that but myself." I start saying and see Serv and Zach smiling at me

"I should've put my problems aside and focused on this team, we're so close to worlds and I know how much this means to you all, especially with college applications happening soon for a lot of us" I tell them truthfully

"But I promise that will never happen again, you guys have my full effort and commitment from now on," I say and wait for someone to say somebody but nobody does

"thank God, I need someone to put Jaelene in her place again" Charlie calls out making everyone laugh

"we're happy you're back Dan, it wasn't the same with moody you," Serv says coming over to put me in a headlock

"Thanks bro, you know what that means now though" I say smirking at them all as they look on with confused faces

"5 laps of the field!" I shout out running out the room laughing as I hear the string of curse words and complains.

I wait for Tobin to come out knowing I need to apologise for the most to her, she's been one of m best friends since day one.

"Hey Tobs, listen-" I start to say

"Dan chill, it's cool okay everyone handles things differently and the main thing is you realised your mistake," She says and I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding

"Thanks Toby" I say smiling and pull her in for a side hug

After training finishes, I know my next task is to apologise to the girls. We usually meet up in the lounge around this time so I head over that way with Tobin

"do you think they're going to forgive me or be mad?" I ask her

"just say the same thing you did to the boys and everyone will understand, I promise," She says trying to reassure me things will work out

I walk in and all eyes turn to look at me standing next to Tobin, all shocked that I'm in school probably and that I'm here in front of them not sitting by myself smoking at the bleachers.

"I want to start off by saying I'm the stupidest fucking person on the planet," I say getting a laugh out of most of them

"I went through something tough and instead of leaning on the people who care about me the most I pushed you all away and its the worst thing I've done. I'm so sorry for how I treated you all and I didn't realise how I'm not the only one affected until someone told me" I say looking at Kelley who's not making eye contact with me

"If you can find it in your heart to forgive me and the old ways I would love nothing more than to have my family back," I say hopefully

All of a sudden Mal jumps out of her seat and rushes to hug me tightly around the waist, this seems to cause a wave of responses and soon enough I'm stuck in the middle of a huge circle.

"would you look at that Dan has for her friends back," Jaelene says in a baby voice behind me

"why do you have to ruin everything Jaelene," I say rolling my eyes as I turn around to face her

"Who else is going to make your life a misery, you're step-parents? Oh wait there dead too, my bad" she says, I see Alex step forward about to go off on Jaelene but I stick my arm out to stop her, I've been wanting to do this for weeks now

"Jaelene do you know the phrase 'some babies must have been dropped on their head'?" I ask staying complexity calm and taking a step forward to get closer to her

"of course I do, I'm not dumb, you say it when to someone who's messed up" She replies cockily like she's just outsmarted me

"yeah well you must have been thrown at a fucking wall because I've never met anyone as rude, selfish and all-round disgusting human being than you" I reply stepping even closer so we're inches apart

"as you can tell Hinkle, I'm really not in the mood for your crap today," I say pointing to my bruised face

She angrily stomps her foot on the floor and spins on her heel before storming out of the room.

"that bitch knows how to grind my gears, I swear," I say annoyed turning around to face the team again

"that will never get old," Ali says shaking her head laughing as everyone sits back doing and talking again.

I listen on, laughing along with the stories but my eyes flicker to Kelley for a second and she seems to do the same. The smile on her face disappears as quickly as she turns back around to the group.

My next mission, win back Kelley

\- - - -

"Are you sure this is going to work Lex, I can't mess this up again," I say fiddling with my collar while holding flowers in my hand

"I thought you didn't get nervous Parker?" She says smirking at me

"Are you kidding me Morgan! I'm shitting one right now" I say wiping the sweat off that's collecting on my palms

"Just chill out okay, do what we planned out and you'll be fine, this is Kelley we're talking about," She tells me I a take a deep breath in before climbing out her car

"I'll see you later Alex, thanks for the lift," I say to my sister and walk off towards Kelley's home.

I reach the door and my hand hovers over the wooden frame, feeling the sweat already building up in my palm again. I finally build up the courage to knock on the door and I'm met by an angry-looking guy

"what are you doing here," he says glaring at me

I'm not scared of him but I know he won't hesitate to beat me up if I say something wrong

"I'm here to see Kelley, is she in?" I ask him, he doesn't reply but whistles loudly instead.

I don't understand why until I see another 4 boys come out around the corner

"she's here to see Kelley," He tells the other guys

"look I know I messed up and I'm here to apologize," I tell them hoping they'll let me in

"Why should we let you, she's been crying for the past month because of what you did" The guy who looks the oldest says taking a step closer to me, I hold myself still though.

"Devon, leave her alone, she can come in" I hear the voice of Kelley say, I glance inside and see her looking at us by the top of the stairs

They reluctantly step aside and allow me to slip past where I follow Kelley up to her room, neither one of us saying anything yet.

She shuts the door behind her and I awkwardly give her the flowers I bought today.

"I got you these by the way," I tell her as she takes them off me

"what are you doing here Dan," Kelley asks throwing the flowers to one side and looking at me unimpressed.

"I messed up Kel, big time. I did the one thing I promised you I would never do, I left. It's always on my mind and I'm constantly kicking myself for how stupid and selfish I was being. I thought if I pushed everyone away it would keep them safe, they wouldn't need to be involved in my messed up life." I start saying hoping she takes this in.

"you are the best thing to happen to me Kelley Maureen O'Hara and I gave that up because I was scared. I love you so much Freckles and the past month without you have been the absolute worst" I tell her and see the tears brimming in her eyes

"so please will you take me back?" I ask practically begging her

"you have to promise me one thing though," She says

"anything," I tell her

"don't push me away, open up and let me help you, I need to know what you're feeling," She says and I nod my head rapidly finding that deal to be a good one

"well I guess I could take you back then," She says smiling slightly and rolling her eyes

My face breaks out into a grin and I pick her up by the waist spinning her around in the room as she squeals out not expecting me to lift her up.

"you don't know how happy I am to hear you say that" I mumble into her shoulder hugging her tightly

"I missed you like crazy and I promise it won't happen ever again, I'm not letting you go," I tell her pulling away and kissing her on the lips having wanted to do it over the last month

We move ourselves to her bed and lie down, myself pulling her closer into my body as she rests her head into the crook of my neck.

"Now we're talking again can you tell me how you've been please, I don't like not knowing what's going on up in there," She says tapping my forehead

"it's been hard I'm not going to lie, I know Mick was a shit guy who treated me like trash and Brittney wasn't much better but they've been in my life for 4 years now and then suddenly one day they're just gone?" I couldn't wrap my head around it

"what made you shut us out though, that's what I can't understand," Kelley asks

"I guess it was the fact I've lost so many people in my life, my mom then my dad and now people who I don't even like died, what would happen to the people I love. I thought it would be better to push everyone away, they are safer that way" I tell her and feel her arms wrap tighter around my waist

"I never told you this but Mick used to hit me a lot, he was always angry and he took that out on me," I say and feel Kelley sitting up off my body

"I know babe, I never wanted to bring it up and I knew Alex was involved so I didn't bother asking about it," She says surprising me

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I was just ashamed that I was getting beat up," I tell her apologetically

"its okay babe, I understand why you did, I had a similar situation in one of my homes and telling someone felt humiliating," She tells me

"Wait really? Please tell me it didn't last for long" I say not liking the thought of my Kelley being treated like that

"No, I was only there for like two weeks and I spent most my time at Alex's house anyway," She tells me and I let out a sigh of relief

"How long did it go on for you, was Mick always abusive?" Kelley asks getting personal but I know I can trust her

"Pretty much from since he came into my life, I did a good job at avoiding him most times especially in the rougher towns I lived in, I could couch surf with most people or stay in the school overnight if need be" I tell her

"But I was doing a lot better when I moved here, I lived with Alex obviously and Pam always helped clean me up if it got worse when I had to go home," I say and see her smile

"I think it's funny how you're my girlfriend and Alex is my best friend but she also basically your sister," She says causing us to laugh

"that is very true, I'm certainly glad I've got the both of you in my life that's for sure," I say kissing her cheek as we lie back down cuddling. Happy to have my girlfriend back.


	31. Because I have it in permanent ink on the side of my body

It's National finals time and the team are all getting pumped up in the locker room, raring and ready to get out on the field and win the trophy for the first time in school history.

The team chemistry has been amazing since Kelley and I sorted things out we've all become closer than ever and I'm so glad I didn't push them away any further than I had.

The boys all travelled down to support us today which means the world to everyone, we've really connected as a group and everyone has slowly started leaving behind Jaelene and her crew, realising it's not worth being the with the most popular when you have a true friendship.

I'm sitting by Alex as she's doing the tape on my wrist, both of us not saying anything to the other

"you okay Morgan?" I ask once she's finished

"a little nervous if I'm honest, there are college scouts here and I really want to impress them," Alex tells me

"you're the best forward we have Lex, you'll get countless offers from colleges I promise," I say placing my hand on her knee

"thanks Parker" She replies pulling me in for a hug

I take my seat back down next to Kelley and pick up her hand, placing a small kiss on her knuckles making her blush like usual

"Are you ever not going to blush Freckles," I say laughing with her.

"Probably not, I can't help it!" She says back blushing even more

I decide to stop teasing her and wait for coach to tell us the plan for today's game. He puts me in the starting line up and along the left-hand side so Kelley and I can link up like we've been doing well in training.

We walk out the tunnel to a packed out crowd and see our boys jumping high in the air getting a laugh out of many of us for their stupid behaviour.

I high five Alex as she passes by and gets into her position up top next to Carli while I look back and send Kelley a quick smile.

"quickly get a drink girl!" Coach yells at us while one of the other girls is down on the floor receiving medical attention

"I can feel another goal coming so we just need to push through the last 5 minutes or so okay?" he tells us as we desperately try to rehydrate.

"I can't get past their number 10, she just bulldozers me over every time" I pant out, emptying the rest of the water onto my head

"use that to your advantage, when she's about to barge you over just slide out of the way and let her humiliate herself," Coach tells me and I nod my head listening to him closely.

"its 2-2 ladies, we're not losing 5-0 so keep your heads up and get us a national championship to bring back home!" Coach yells as we all get back onto the pitch.

They take their freekick quickly and start to try and progress up the field but Julie cuts it out of their possession easily and lays it off to me on the left.

Kelley and I do a few one-two touches to each other drawing in their players before she sends it over their head and letting me power off forward.

Just like last time the number 10 is charging towards me, not even looking at the ball this time and straight my legs so I wait until she's close enough to almost make an impact and quickly step to one side sending her flying to the floor as I charge forward.

Kelley ended up travelling with me to help out and I can see her running into the perfect spot at the back post. I time my strike and connect my foot with the ball, watching it loop over everyone's head and straight to Kelley who buries it into the top netting.

My girlfriend has just scored her first goal of the season and it's just happens to win us the game. I run straight to her and she does the same meeting me in the middle by jumping on top of me

"We are celebrating tonight," I say without even thinking

I expected Kelley to start blushing but she just smirks instead and kisses me on the lips in front of the whole crowd and team, something I never expected the shy Kelley O'Hara to be doing

"Most definitely," she says as the team swarm us in a group hug

We have huge smiles on our faces as we jog back into position waiting for kick-off and expecting the whistle to blow almost immediately, and just like expected it does

I collapse to the floor in disbelief not believing we've just won this game and crowded ourselves the national championships for the first time.

Alex comes over to hug me tightly as we both bury our heads into the others shoulder

"We just fucking won Dan, we actually did that," She says to me

"it doesn't feel real," I tell her and feel her chuckle

We join the team in celebrating on the pitch, hugging each other tightly and celebrating with our school in the crowd, Alex and I spot mom and Emelia in the crowd so we run over to them both.

"You won!" Pam shouts out throwing her arms in the air as we laugh.

"I hated every second if that, it was too intense," Em says but hugs us anyways.

"we'll have to have a proper celebration this weekend," Pam says

"that sounds great mom, we've got to get back to the team now," Alex says and we both wave goodbye to our family and get back to out teammates

The lockers have been decorated with banners and balloons everywhere as we walk in and start jumping around in celebration.

Tobin and I look at each other thinking the same thing probably, this is just like their nationals with the football team. Not many people can say they've won two in the same year now, can they.

We change into our championship tops and head back onto the pitch for the trophy all of us jumping up and down as Carli and Becky hoist to into the air

We're walking back down the tunnel when I notice someone coming my way, a small smile, almost smirk, resting on his face.

"Donatella Parker, I've heard so much about you, nice to finally meet you in person," Christopher Hinkle says

The one person in my life who I despise more than anyone at the moment acting like he didn't probably kill Mick and Brittney and he doesn't know who murdered my father. I have to keep a cool face though, he can't know that I'm investigating into his shady business

"you too sir" I reply back through gritted teeth.

The team just look on awkwardly while the pair of us are having this strange interaction but I see Alex and Kelley looking at me concerned in the corner of my eye, knowing me all too well.

"well done on tonight's win" He says and sticks his hand out for me to shake

I reluctantly do and as I'm about to let go her pulls me in closer so he can whisper in my ear

"See you soon sweetie, you won't know what hit you," He says and I feel my heart drop at his words.

I'm left frozen in my place while he walks of smugly. I don't know what to do right now and the team are all staring expecting me to say something but I don't, instead, I run out feeling my chest tightening on me

I find a wall that I can lean on and try to get some oxygen back into my lungs hoping to stop the panic attack I'm going to be having any second

"you've got to follow what I'm doing Dan" I hear someone say and pick up the hand to place on the stomach where I can feel them taking steady breaths in and out

"almost there babe," Somebody else says and I know it's Kelley so I wave out trying to feel where she is

"I'm right here Dan, not going anywhere I promise," She says gripping onto my hand tightly

"I-I think I'm good now," I say after a few seconds of collecting myself

"you sure" I hear Alex says helping me stand up straight

"yeah, just a stupid panic attack again, I'd thought I'd gotten over them," I say angry with myself that I'm still getting them after going to therapy I've been going to

"It happens sometimes when we least expect it, it's not something to be angry about," Kelley says calming me down

"I know," I say dropping my head down as the pair wrap their arms sound my shoulder

"come on, let's get to the bus" Alex says and the three of us walk off back to the bus.

I don't say much the ride home, the words Christopher Hinkle said to me going through my mind on loop and do you know why.

They're the same words that I have tattooed on the side of my ribs for almost 3 years now. My mind flashes back to the first time I showed them to Alex.

"Why do you even do this, you're not a keeper or anything," Alex asks as she wraps the stuff around my wrist

"because I like to write a message on the" I reply simply

"something my dad said before he left that day, I have it tattooed on my ribs actually," I tell her

"I haven't seen any of other tattoos except the ones on your arms and legs"

"Of course, here I'll show you it now," I say and lift up my shirt to show her my sides.

"Wow, this is beautiful," she says running her fingers lightly over the design and the words he said 'see you soon sweetie'

"yeah I got it last year, cost me a fortune but it's worth it," I say and smile as I pull my shirt back down.

\- - - - - - - - - - -

"I know you don't want to talk about it but you promised not to shut us out anymore Dan," Alex tells me and I let out a groan knowing she's right

"We might as well head to the room because I've been trying not to think about this the whole way back," I tell her, helping her off the floor after our self-defence lesson

We head to our room and lock the door behind before Alex pulls out the book and opens the door to our murder investigation room yet again.

"he congratulated me on our game and them pulled me closer so he could whisper in my ear." I start to explain taking a deep breath in as I tell her the next part

"He whispered in my ear 'see you soon sweetie, you won't know what hit you' and walked off like it was nothing," I tell her a slight sacred expression on my face

"Why does that sound familiar" Alex questions

"because I have it in permanent ink on the side of my body," I say lifting up my top to show her the tattoo she's seen before.

"Fuck, I remember you showing me that. I'm confused though, he hasn't seen it has he?" Alex asks staring at me with wide eyes

"God I hope not, that would be gross," I say shivering at the thought of Jaelene's father seeing me without a top on

"then how does he know exactly what your tattoo said, it's about your dad right?" Alex asks and nods my head at her question.

"let's just think this through and start from the top" She says turning the face the walls with all our work on

"Okay, we know for definite that Christopher Hinkle is Camden Hackley which is also CH," I say getting a nod from Alex

"that quote is the last thing my dad said before he went off on the honeymoon with Brittney and I know that Hinkle had to have to know who killed my dad but now I'm thinking he must have been following my dad before all this happened, how else would you explain him knowing that," I say Alex not wanting to believe it myself, the thought of my family being watched for however long

"me too, but how are they linked, did your dad know Christopher at all?" Alex asks and I shake my head no

"Not that I know off," I tell her

"Let's pause that thought for a second and look at Micks cars, these are the pictures you took at the crime scene and you're saying the blood splatter isn't accurate for it to be a suicide?" Alex says looking at me questioningly

"correct, it's too dispersed for the trajectory to calculate right," I say pointing out how far apart it all is

"I forgot you're doing a degree in criminology" She mutters

"what I don't understand is why anyone would kill Mick and all those people and then frame it on him. Mick wasn't just anyone he was high up in their ranks, it had to be another rival gang of sorts or Mick did something that was going to get Hinkle's business in trouble " I say still confused by a lot of this

"Someone must have had the motive to do it then, they needed to get rid of him and a large number of people quickly" She says as I nod my head in agreement

"When you shut everyone out and moved back to your old home, I kept on looking over the photos we took of the storage unit and spotted this" she says removing the pin from one of the photos and passing it over to me

"What am I looking at here?" I ask confused as to what she's seeing and I'm not

"you see that box in the far corner? It has a sticker on it while none of the rest do" She says and I look closer to see she's right

"wait I recognise that, where have I seen it before?" I ask myself going to each wall and looking at everything until my eyes land on what I want

"I knew I'd seen it before, look its the company logo for AIM, the same business my dad worked for" I tell Alex pointing to the picture we've got printed out

"so Christopher Hinkle is getting the drug shells from AIM?" Alex says

"he must be, maybe that's how he knows my dad," I say everything clicking into place in my head

"We really need to go to you're dads office and see if we can find anything there," Alex says

"it's in New York!" I yell excitedly

"why is that good Parker, that's over 5 hours on the plane," She says looking at me weirdly

"yes that's very true but who is going to New York in a month for Worlds," I say smirking as one breaks out onto her face too

"Christopher Hinkle we are coming for you," Alex says rubbing her hands together in excitement

"Girls! Where are you?" We hear Pam call out coming up the stairs

We quickly rush out the room and close it just in time for Pam to open up the door

"why are the pair of you standing by the bookshelf?" She asks us confused

"I was just telling Alex how we should colour coordinate them," I tell her, letting the lie easily fall off my lips

"well okay then, I'm about to order pizza, I just wanted to check you both want your usual order," She asks us

"yes please mom," Alex says smiling at Pam who walks back out again

We let out a sigh of relief realising how badly that could've been if we were a few seconds too slow. We head down to the lounge anyways and crash on the sofa with Em while we wait for the pizza to arrive.

A few minutes pass by and the doorbell rings making us very confused

"I only ordered a couple of minutes ago, it can't have been than quick" Pam says standing up to go answer the door

"Hello, how can I help you?" We hear mom say to whoever is at the door

"Hi ma'am is Donatelli Parker here?" They ask peaking my attention so I stand up and walk over to the door

"Yes she is, why do you need her?" Pam asks as I come into sight

"Miss we need to take you with us, you're going to a foster home"


	32. Let's just say, you're looking at your new housemate

"you can't just come into my home and take away my daughter!" Pam screams at the social workers who have turned up at our door.

"Yes we can ma'am, we've got a letter from the state saying this child has no parental guardians and needs to be put into the system" one of the social workers says and proceeds to grab my arm

"she's been living with us for the past 6 months almost and now you turn up and threaten to take her!" Alex shouts back just as angry as Pam.

"Look we can do this the easy or the hard way, I can get the cops involved and have you locked up or she can come with us," The bigger guys says threatening them all which I am not having

"Look I'll go with you okay, just leave them out of it all," I say to the two workers and let them drag me out of my home

"you'll be hearing from my lawyers!" Pam shouts as I'm almost pushed into the car.

I look out the back window and see everyone staring as the car drives further and further away from my family. What the fuck has just happened

"can someone please explain what the fuck is going on?" I ask a little angrily to the two people in front of the car

"you don't have any guardians kid, we have to take you into the foster system," The one driving tells me

"I haven't had guardian for over a month and now you decide to come to pick me, right after I win a National Championship!" I say throwing my hands up in the air

"Sorry kid, we only got the order today, it's just how things worked out," The guys say looking back at me

"and my pizza too!" I groan out before slumping into the back seat and wondering where the hell they're taking me

"Alright kid, we're here," One of them says and I sit up a little to look out the window and start laughing

"Usually most kids are crying or super angry, we've never had a laughing one before," The guy says looking at me confused

"I'll see you fellas later, thanks for the lift" I say smiling happily at them and skipping towards the home.

I knock on the door and wait for someone to answer it, chuckling to myself at how this has all worked out.

"Dan? What are you going here?" Devon asks opening the door as he gives me a bro hug

"Let's just say, you're looking at your new housemate," I say causing more confusion to spread across his face

"well we're all in the living room celebrating your win tonight," He says and I follow him inside

"Is Mrs K here, I probably need to speak with her?" I tell Devon

"Yeah she's in here with everyone else," He says

"I found someone lurking by the front door" Devon calls out making all heads turn this way

"Babe!" Kelley yells jumping out her seat and running to hug me

"hey freckles," I say hugging her tightly and kissing the top of her head as she buries her head into my neck

"I love you a lot Dan but it's past 10 at night, these lots are all heading up in an hour and I'm expecting a new kid coming" Mrs K says apologetically to me

"I think that new kid might be me, I've just been dropped of my some social workers," I tell her and see her face morph into one of confusion

"I'm expecting Donatella Parker though," She says making Kelley smile next to me

"Mrs K that is Dan's full name, she just doesn't like being called by it" Kelley informs her

"oh well then, I guess welcome to you're new home," She says giving me a warm smile

"Why are you even here babe, not that I'm glad but you've got a family?" She asks as the pair of us excuse ourselves from the group

"to be honest I don't know much myself, I was sitting at home with Mom, Alex and Emelia when these two social workers just knocked on the door saying I needed to be put in the system because I had no legal guardian" I explain as we sit on the bottom step

"No warning or nothing? They just turned up and dragged you out?" Kelley asks surprised

"Yeah, I was pretty angry and pissed off to begin with, but then I found out where I was going and I'm not mad," I say smiling at my girlfriend

"what's going to happen next then, because as much as I would love for you to live here with me, you've got Pam to get back to," She asks

"I don't really have much clue, to be honest, it all happens so unexpectedly," I say shrugging my shoulders

"Could I borrow your phone though, they didn't let me take anything and I need to call Alex and tell her I'm okay?" I ask Kelley

"of course babe, here," she says handing me hers over

I press Alex's name in Kelley's contact list and hold the phone to my ear as it rings through

"Kelley, now not a good time-" Alex says but I cut her off laughing

"Morgan chill, it's me," I say as I hear her sigh out in relief

"Dan! Oh thank God you're okay, how come you've got Kelley's phone?" Alex asks

"the foster home they took me to was Kelley's so I'm fine okay, what's going on back home?" I ask Alex, wondering what mom is like right now

"Mom went mad and called her lawyer straight away to try and sort the problem out, Em went up to her room and won't let anyone in, and I'm trying to keep this house altogether," Alex says sounding stressed

"well tell everyone I'm safe and perfectly fine here with Kelley okay, pass me on to Em as well," I ask Alex and hear her walking up the stairs to our sister's room

"Em open up!" Alex shouts

"I've got Dan on the phone!" Alex shouts again having got no answer the first time round

"Dan!" I hear Em say on the phone

"Hey Em, you okay?" I ask the younger Morgan sister

"am I okay? Are you! They just dragged you out the house like you were some object" Emelia shouts out angrily

"Em just calm down okay, I'm at the group home Kelley's in and I'm safe , I'll still be turning up for school tomorrow," I tell her

"Thank God!" She says letting out a sigh

"I've got to go now, but tell you mom I'm okay and look after everyone alright?" I say to her

"Okay Dan, love you," she says just above a whisper

"I love you too Em," I say smiling through the phone thinking how this is our first time saying it to each other

"Hey Dan, you still there?" Alex asks having had the phone passed back to her

"yeah I'm here" I reply

"okay well I'll see you tomorrow in school alright," She says to me

"I'll see you them Lex, love you" I tell her

"Love you too Dan" Alex replies before I hang up the phone and pass it back to Kelley

"you okay?" Kelley asks me

"Yeah, just a lot to take in I guess" I say standing up off the step

"that's understandable babe, why didn't we call it a night hey, it's been a long day anyway," She says grabbing my hand and dragging me up the stairs

"do you not want to go hang out with your family?" I ask

"I've been with them for the past couple of hours and the little ones are annoying me anyway," She says pulling me into her room

"Okay then" I say happily and take off my clothes so I'm left in just my underpants and bra top

"a-are you sleeping like that?" Kelley asks stuttering nervously as she looks over my body

"yes, I get hot when I sleep, I can put a top on if you want me to?" I say not wanting to make Kelley feel awkward, we haven't really done the deed yet if you know what I mean

"no-no! I mean no it's fine, I get hot sometimes too" She says getting undressed herself

I'm standing there just watching her from behind as she slowly shimmies down her trousers leaving her in just a bra and underwear like me. She doesn't seem to move from where she is and instead brings her hair around to her front, leaving her back exposed

I take a few steps forwards until my front is almost touching her back, both of us breathing slightly heavier in anticipation of what's to happen next.

I take my hands and let them rest on her shoulder before slowly bringing them down the side of her arm, goose bumps appearing in her tanned skin while I finally lean into her neck and place small kisses over it

"babe" Kelley breaths out and I can feel her getting a little riled up.

I decide to take it a step further and slowly creep my free hand up her back, running my fingers through the small indent up through her spine until I reach her bra strap

My fingers wrap around the hooks and I tentatively pull it off, dropping the only piece of clothing covering her torso onto the floor.

I can tell Kelley is getting embarrassed by the fact she's half-naked and I lean in to let her know it's okay

"You're beautiful babe" I whisper in her ear and place some kissed behind her ear lope

Apparently, it's Kelley's sweet spot because she lets out a small moan and leans her head back onto my shoulder giving me more access to her skin and body. I continue to kiss over her neck and let my hands slowly work their way up the front of her body.

I reach her boobs and give them a light squeeze which seems to be enough for Kelley as she lets out another quiet moan in response. I'm going to make sure this night is perfect for Kelley, no matter what.

Kelley must be a little impatient as she spins around suddenly and pulls me in for a kiss, our lips finally touching as my hands rest on the smaller of her back while walking us over to the bed.

I sit down first and let my girlfriend straddle my hips, her arms snaking around my neck as I brush mine all over her bare skin

"too many clothes," Kelley says slightly out of breath as she separates our lips and reaches around to my bra.

She unhooks the material and brings it round to take off my body, her eyes drifting to my chest almost instantly and I can see her hands hovering, unsure of what to do. I help her out a little and grab her hands, bringing them up to my chest and placing them on my breasts

"you're okay to touch them Freckles, they're yours to do what you want with," I tell my girlfriend who nods shyly and connects our lips again.

I let out a few quiet moans as Kelley explores my body with her hands both of us quickening the place a little and soon enough I've flipped our position over, Kelley underneath my body as I hover on top.

My mouth attaches itself to her skim and I work myself down her body, peppering her collar bone until I reach her left boob where I let my lips suck on her sensitive nipple, my other hand massaging the right boob in hopes to make her feel good.

Kelley's head leans itself back into the pillow and I can tell she's getting worked up with my touch. I let my lips carry on travelling furthers down and kissing her individual abs causing Kelley's hips to hoist up in the need for some attention.

I stop kissing her body which makes Kelley look up at me with a frown but I need to hear her say this

"are you sure you want this Freckles, it's okay if you're not ready?" I ask not wanting to push her where she's not comfortable being yet

"I'm sure Dan, now please fuck me already," She says making me smirk at her desperate tone

I don't waste any time in slipping her underwear off her perfect legs and kissing along her thighs, working my way up to the holy grail which is going to worship for a long long time

"Babe plea- Fuck!" Kelley gasps out as I suddenly connect my lips with her core, sending a long swipe with my tongue up her centre until I reach her clit and focus on the sensitive bundle of nerves there

I work my way around it, bringing my hands up to help with the process and dipping my tongue in and out while my fingers work their magic of her clit.

Knowing she's pretty close already from the teasing it doesn't take long before her legs are shaking underneath me and I can hear her moaning out my name

"D-Dan, I'm so close," Kelley says making me pick up the pace ever so slightly and finally bring her to the climax.

Juices flow out of her and I make sure to clean it all up while helping her ride out the high she's on right now, her legs resting on my back as I look up at her with a smirk on my face.

What I wasn't expecting was for Kelley to smirk back and pull me up from my position so our lips were connected once more.

"hmm, I don't taste too bad do I" She mumbles against me lips leaving me there in shock

My god that was hot, I can already feel the wetness through my underwear at the comment and I don't waste any time in slipping my hand back down into her core.

A gasp escapes her mouth at the unexpected contact I'm giving her. I stick a finger inside and start pumping in and out, her fingers scraping up and down my back just turning me on even more.

I add a second in and Kelley starts moaning again, I curl them at the end slightly and hit her G-spot with every thrust I make and soon enough she's a moaning mess under me coming out of her second high.

"I love you so much" I whisper in her ear as I finish off

I climb off her, panting myself, and I look over at my girlfriend next to me wanting to make sure she's okay and I didn't hurt her.

"Was that okay babe? I didn't hurt you right?" I ask tentatively

"God no babe, it was amazing I promise," She says flipping over to look me in the eyes and I know she's telling the truth

"I'm glad, I wanted our first time to be gentle and loving, not too rushed," I tell her, my fingers drawing circles on her exposed back

"It was babe, I promise you that but there's a slight problem. It can't be our first time together if you didn't get off" She says and next thing I know her head is in-between my legs and she's taking off my underwater

"Oh dear lord" I breath out not expecting this at all.

We're most definitely in for a long night.


	33. No offence Kel, but anything to get me back home I'm all for

The next morning rolls around and after our special night together the two of us are on cloud nine this morning getting ready for school

"babe do you have any clothes I can borrow?" I ask Kelley who's rooting through her draws for something herself

"I don't really have anything of your style but ask Devon, he'll have everything you'll want," She says pecking my lips as she walks past and into the group bathroom.

I follow my girlfriend's instructions and head over to Devon's room, knocking on the door and waiting for someone to answer

"what's up Dan?" Devon asks answering the door in just his jeans and wet hair

"I need some clothes and Kel said we've got the same style so I'm stealing some of your stuff," I tell the half-naked man in front of me

I may be very gay but I can appreciate a good looking person when I see one and Devon is most definitely that

"Liking what you're seeing Parker?" Devon asks smugly leaning against the wall

"in your dreams, unless you have a vagina I don't want to know," I tell him and start raiding through the clothes he has.

I've got my jeans from yesterday that I can put back on so I just need a top and jacket maybe to add to the outfit, I spot a simple dodgers tee in the back and pick that out.

"what's the weather like today?" I ask Devon who's finally put on a top of his own

"Troy said it's pretty warm" Devon replies so I don't bother taking a jacket and just stick with the top

"Alright cool, thanks for the top D," I say and walk back to Kelley's room to see her out the shower and drying off

"That was the quickest shower ever," I say chuckling in unbelief

"Yeah well you learn pretty quickly not to take long in them here," She says and starts brushing her hair as I come over

"noted, maybe next time we can save some water and have one together" I reply with a grin on my face

"You'd like that wouldn't you" She mumbles against my lips as I kiss her quickly. I grab my stuff and head towards the bathroom to have a lonely shower.

I follow Kelley's lead and take the quickest shower humanly possible and getting out to dry myself off and slip on my clothes for the day.

"we've got like 20 minutes before the bus pulls up" Kelley tells me

"Okay well I'm ready to go," I say making her spin around to look at me

"dang you look good babe," She says walking over to smooth out my top

"you think? I reckon I pull it off better than Devon" I say making her laugh

"you most definitely do," She replies smiling and leaning up to kiss me on the lips before we head down for some breakfast.

"ah! Dan, how was your first night here?" Mrs K asks me as I walk into the kitchen area

"it was amazing Mrs K," I say putting the emphasis on the amazing and discreetly turning to look at Kelley who's a blushing mess

"Great! After school today, we'll sit down with everyone and talk about your situation alright" She says and I nod my head happily, a piece of toast sticking out my mouth

"you lot have a bus to catch," She says and shoos us away.

I don't have my bag with me or anything so I just stroll out the home behind Kelley and a few of the other kids while we wait at the bus stop.

"Who gets the school bus?" I ask Kel, my arm wrapped around her waist

"Ash, Ali, Tobin and Hope do," She tells me turning to wrap her arms fully around my waist and place her head on my chest

"Are you always this cuddly cause if so I'm not sitting with you at dinner" Devon says and I just stick up my hand to flip him off.

Soon enough the classic yellow school bus pulls up and we climb up the steps to be met with loud cheers at the back of the bus welcoming us on

"Champions! Champions!" Hope, Ash and Tobin all chant loudly making me laugh at them

"Not that I don't want you here Dan but why are you on the bus, did you sleep at Kelley's!" Ash says gasping at us both making Kelley blush

"Ash chill! Yes I slept at Kelley's but not for that reason, social services took me from Alex's place after the game" I tell them taking the empty seat next to Ali

"That's awful! Did they just turn up with no warning" Ali asks horrified

"Yeah but it's okay Kriegs I get to stay with my girlfriend" I say and wink at Kelley who's still blushing

"there's something different about the pair of you" Hope says her eyes flicking back and forth between Kelley and I.

"you've got this, glow, about you," She says squirting her eyes like it's going to help her figure it out

"you did do it!" Ash shouts gasping loudly getting multiple heads to turn our ways

"fucking hell Ash, keep your voice down" I whisper aggressively at her

"you guys have all grown up, it's so cute," Hope says in baby voice causing me to just glare at her

"never mind, I take that back," She replies once she saw my face

"Just don't go telling everyone please, I don't want Jaelene knowing because she'll just make some comment about it all day and I want the memory to be special" Kelley says to the girls

"We won't say anything Kel, I'm happy for you both" Ali says smiling at the two of us

"Thanks Ali, I'm glad you're mature about it" I reply glaring at Ash and Hope again while Tobin laughs

The rest of the bus ride I just sit back and listen to the others talk about everything, mostly being our win from last night but it was fun to have a laugh with them all.

As the bus pulls up to school I follow behind the group and walk out into the parking lot, wondering if Alex and Em have gotten here yet with my stuff.

It seems like they have because the next thing I know two people are being thrown at my body and I'm stumbling back to try and not fall over

"thank God you're okay, we were all so worried last night," Alex says holding on to me tightly

"worst night ever!" Em mumbles into my top making me laugh a little

"both of you look at me, I'm 100 percent okay," I tell the sister looking them in the eyes so they know I'm not lying

"Let's get inside, there's a lot to explain to do," Alex says and I walk in with the others to our usual spot in the student lounge.

"yo Dan we heard what happened I'm so sorry bro," Serv says coming over to hug me along with a few of the other boys

"its cool guys, I knew it was all too good to be true at the moment and it's not that bad of a situation, I'm staying with Kel," I tell the group who are all here

"I should probably explain everything that's happened," Alex says and I nod my head, taking a seat and placing Kelley on my lap.

"I've already told you mom spoke with her lawyers, well they got back to us this morning with all the possible solutions to sort this out" Alex starts saying

"because you're under 18 and now have no legal guardian, you can't leave and live with whoever but as soon as you turn 18 you can which is just messed up. Anyways, we tried looking into being a legal guardian or even a foster parent but it would take up to 3 months for everything to go through and be completed" Alex says and I let out a sigh not like the some of that

"So I've got to wait 3 months until I can come home, that's such bullshit," I say a little angrily and Kelley grabs my hand to calm me down

"I know, mom went on an hour rant about it all the morning trust me," Alex says making me laugh

"There is one solution though and it means we can get you out of there in 2 weeks," Alex says making me sit up straight

"no offence Kel, but anything to get me back home I'm all for," I say happily making my girlfriend just kiss my cheek

"Just wait until you hear it first Dan," Alex says making me frown

"Mom would have to adopt you," Alex says and I swear you could hear a pin drop in the room with how silent it's gone

Everyone knows how much I love my birth parents and what they mean to me, I grew up with them loving me like I was the most precious thing to land on this earth and then mom died and I pushed myself away, away from the people that care about me and eventually my dad died too.

I've always said that they're my parents and anyone else who looks after me is nobody, I mean what do you expect when I had to put up with people like Mick and Brittney looking after me, the people who were supposed to become you're new parents and love you just as much as your last.

I fell Kelley place her hand on my thigh snapping me out of my daze and back into the room of people all looking at me with different emotions, some sadness while others look confused.

"I understand how much your mom and dad mean to you Dan, everyone does, and if you don't want to that's fine, mom with totally understand," Alex says looking at me sympathetically

"yes" I reply sternly, nodding my head up and down at her

"yes what? Yes like you'd want to be adopted" Alex asks hopefully

"Yes as in I'd like to be adopted Alex," I say a smile breaking out on my face as I stand up and hug her tightly

"I'm done with being stuck in the past and I know that my mom and dad would want me to move on and be happy," I say and feel Alex sniffle in my arms

"I'm joining in too" Em shout and hugs me tightly again.

Everyone around starts cheering and clapping loudly for us and it makes me happy that we've got these amazing people around us that we get to share these moments with.

"I'm proud of you babe, I know that you're parents are smiling down at you," Kelley says smiling up at me

"I know" I smile back and quickly peck her on the lips

\- - - -

"mom is in right?" I ask Alex as we pull up to our house

"she said she was unless she's speaking to her lawyer" Alex replies shrugging her shoulders unsure

She unlocks the door and I follow behind as we walk back into my home, the smell of lavender filling my nose

"Alex? Dan? Is that you?" We hear Pam say just as she comes around the corner and quickly engulfs me in a hug

"I've missed you so much," She says causing me to chuckle

"I wasn't even gone 24 hours," I say and she just scoffs at me

"doesn't mean I can't miss you" She says

"I'm so sorry to have to go through all of that yesterday, it was awful," Pam says as we walk into the lounge

"it wasn't too bad, I got to spend the night with my girlfriend which was a plus," I say happily

"don't go making me a grandmother just yet please," Pam says jokingly to me

"you need to quit being a nurse if you think babies are made that way" I reply getting a laugh from everyone

"Has Alex told you about the situation yet?" Pam asks unsure

"she has" I nod back looking at Alex

"okay I completely understand if you decide against it, I'm more than happy to apply to be a foster parent-" Pam starts to ramble out

"mom chill out please, I've already made up my mind and I would love nothing more than for you to officially be my mom" I say happily to Pam as I smile at her

\- - - -  
2 weeks later

"you look amazing babe," Kelley says as she straightens out my collar jacket.

"you think?" I ask checking over myself in the mirror again

"yes, now please calm down, I don't like seeing you nervous it's weird," She tells me and laugh a little at her statement

"We should probably head down," I say to my girlfriend and grab her hand to walk out my room and to where Pam, Alex and Em are all waiting

"Is everyone ready for this?" Pam asks the four of us.

We just nod our heads and silently walk to the car. Alex, Kelley and I climbing into the back seat while Em sits upfront. I don't think anyone really knows what to say right now but I just grab their hands next to me and squeeze them tightly.

When we arrive I get this feeling in the pit of my stomach that makes me want to throw up right this second

"Dan are you okay?" Alex asks obviously seeing my particular state

"I feel like I'm about to throw up," I say clutching my stomach

"that's nerves Dan, just breath through it and you'll be okay," Alex says rubbing circles on my back

"I'm glad I don't get nervous all the time because this feels awful," I say getting a small chuckle out of Alex.

She takes my hand in hers and we walk through the double doors and up towards the judge. I look at the people in the stands and notice the boys have all come and so have the girls, everyone giving me huge smiles

"If everyone could be seated please," The judge says and I take my seat

"you must be Donatella Parker," the judge says smiling at me

"yes ma'am, you're more than welcome to call me Dan," I say as politely as possible

"okay then Dan, it says here in your file that's your mother died age 11, and your father remarried when you were 14 to Brittney Cross, is this right ?" The judge asks bluntly but the lawyer prewarned me this would happen

"yes ma'am that I'd correct" I reply back

"and when you're father passed you moved in with Brittney correct?" She asks again

"correct ma'am, her boyfriend was also there very early on" I add-in

"I see, what was your relationship like with the stepmother and her boyfriend?" The judge asks and I feel my hands sweating a lot.

I glance quickly behind me and see Alex and Kelley giving me reassuring looks, telling me it's okay to tell the truth. I take a deep breath in and get ready to tell the secret only 4 people in this room know.

"It wasn't very good at all, Mitchell was a very aggressive and angry person and he often took that out on me, I had to move schools a lot because teachers would get suspicious of the bruises I had over my face and body. Brittney never hit me physically but she was always there to watch it happen, normally a smirk on her face" I tell the judge who looks horrified

"I had no idea Dan, I'm very sorry," The judge says sympathetically

"its okay ma'am," I say giving her a small tight-lipped smile

"When did you first meet the Morgan's?" She asks me next

"My first day at school I'd gotten talking with her best friend in the lesson and sat at their table, that's when I met Alex. I met Emelia when she was being targeted by a bully in school and I stood up for her, I didn't know the pair were sisters at the time. And a couple of days later I went round for dinner and met Pam there" I tell the judge

"When did you start living there?" She asks

"It must have been 5 months maybe from arriving in this town that I properly moved in but I spend most nights over there and only went home so Mitchell wouldn't become angry. One time I went back and I interrupted a meeting he was having and he lashed out, beating my up and telling me to not bother coming home again" I let the judge know, I don't want to turn around and look at my friend's faces because I know none of them knows any of his

"I see, do you feel like Pamela Morgan treated you like a daughter?" She asks another question and I look over at Pam and smile

"absolutely, she comes to every football game I play in and is always there to support and help me in my school work. She's bought me clothes and equipment and not to forget the countless nights she's fed me food. I didn't think I'd ever get another mother after my mom passed away but Pam has shown me what it's liked to be loved again and can day without a doubt I owe her my life" I say confidently and look at the judge who has a smile on her face

"very well then, I don't think there's much else that needs to be said other than; Dan Parker you have officially been adopted by Pamelia Morgan, congratulations on you're new family," The judge says smiling at me

I go over and hug Pam, Alex and Em tightly as all my friend's cheer loudly around us. I remember something that Kelley and I were talking about last night so I tell my new family that I'll be back in two seconds and head up to the judge

"Ma'am, I was wondering if it was possible to change my surname too," I ask

"I don't see why not, I'll put the paperwork through and you should get a letter pretty soon in the post," She tells me and I smile happily going back over to my family

"what were you asking her?" Em asks me

"Just if I could change my last name, I think it's about time I got the Morgan name in my title" I say smirking

Well, I guess that settles it, I'm officially a Morgan now.


	34. Don't worry, I've got yours but it's a little different to the boys

A couple of weeks pass by and things have finally gone back to normal, my surname is now officially Morgan and Alex and I have been dubbed the Morgan duo on the pitch and off.

Right now we're wheeling our suitcases into the kitchen because we are off to New York City.

"Have you double-check you have everything, toothbrush, PJs, some sun cream?" Pam asks fussing over us again

"Mom calm down, we've quadruple checked everything okay and even if we forget something we can easily buy it when we're there," Alex says to our mom

"I know, I know, this is just the first time my babies are going away and I won't be there," She says pulling us in for the fiftieth hug today

"We really need to be heading to the school mom, you know how coach gets when we're late," I tell her

"right! Let's get going then" She says and walks out the door as Alex and I laugh at her behaviour

We carry out our cases into the trunk and climb in so mom can drive to where the team are all meeting before the airport. After the quick drive up there we see most the team have already arrived and are waiting outside the bus.

"what up fellas!" I say bro hugging a few that come over first

"yo what's up captain, you pumped for this?" Charlie asks me

"Of course I am, I pumped to win it," I say getting out shouts from them all

"They are like animals" I hear the distinctive voice of Kelley say behind me.

"babe!" I shout happily and run over to hug her tightly

"When did you get here?" I ask

"about 10 minutes ago, you know I like to be early," She says making me shake my head laughing.

"don't forget about me, I've had to listen to Charlie talk about his new girlfriend for the last 10 minutes," Tobin says coming in and joining the conversation

"Welcome ladies and gentleman, this is a very special and monumental moment not just for ourselves but the school and our state. We're the first team to make it to Worlds and I couldn't be prouder of every single one of you, even you parents" Coach says getting a laugh out the adults

"we're not representing our school anymore we're representing our country and there's no greater honour than that. And because of that we have some new gear" Coach says and does behind the bus to bring out a huge box.

He opens it up and pulls out brand new Leatherman jackets customer juts for us

"these are sick!" Zach calls out and they all get passed around, everyone has their name on the back.

I'm patiently waiting for mine to come around when I notice coach stop handing them out.

"and here I was thinking I'm the favourite," I say joking with him

"don't worry, I've got yours but it's a little different to the boys," He says with a small smile on his face

"first of all you went and changed your surname so I had to get it remade" He tells us making me laugh

"and the boys thought everyone deserved to know who was in charge around here" He says and finally hands it over.

"Wow, this is awesome, thanks guys" I say running my fingers over the white captain writing on the back 

"Wow, this is awesome, thanks guys" I say running my fingers over the white captain writing on the back

"Put them on and we'll load up the bus," Coach says and everyone soon adds the new piece of merch to their bodies

"I have to say babe, you look very hot," Kelley says helping me straighten it up

"Why thank you freckles," I say and kiss her lips.

I say my last goodbyes to mom and all of us kids climb onto the bus, Alex sits next to Serv and I take a seat next to Kelley.

According to coach, USA has kitted us out for the whole tournament, first-class flights and 5-star hotel to stay at while we're there. If only women got the same.

We arrive at the airport and met with a surprise consisting of Ash, Ali, Hope, Carli, Christen and Julie all saying they're coming on the trip too. Christen, Julie and Kelley all have enough credit to take the month or so off from school and we got Zach to use his blackmail against Mr Davis to let them off.

We board onto the plane and take our seats in first class, the team get a few good lucks from civilians knowing where we're about to go and we even take a few photos with some fans.

Kelley and I are just cuddle in my seat since it's big enough for both of us when I feel someone tap my shoulder next to me.

"Hello little one, can I help you?" I ask the small girl who's appeared by my side

"I can't find my mommy and I remember you from the tele" The little girl says to me

"That's not good at all, why don't you come sit here while we get someone to find her" I say to the girl who smiles happily at me.

I pick her up and place her on my lap so she's sitting facing Kelley and I

"what's your name sweetie?" Kelley asks the girl

"Sophia" She says smiling shyly at me my girlfriend

"That's such a pretty name! What's your mommy called?" Kelley asks her again

"Alex" She says happily

"Really? My best friend is also called Alex" Kelley tells the kid excitedly while I call over a maid

"This girl has lost her mom, her names Alex" I whisper to the stewardess not wanting to scare Sophia

She just nods her head at me and walks off, presumably to find out where her mom is while I turn back around to focus on my girlfriend adorably talking to the little girl

"so Sophia you said that you'd seen us on the tele," I say to the girl

"Yeah! My sissy like to watch all of your games, she wants to be just like you when she grows up and play football" Sophia tells me, her face beaming with joy

"That's so cool, here why don't I give you this," I say taking off my cap and handing it to her

"Really! She's going to think I'm the best sister ever" Sophia says happily.

"That's right! What's your sisters name Sophia?" I ask

"Kelsey" Sophia says smiling widely still, I grab a sharpie out of my bag and write on the underside "To Kelsey, keep dreaming, Dan Morgan"

"Sophia! Sweetie, I thought something bad had happened" We hear someone say and run to pick up her daughter

"I'm fine mommy, I was talking to my new friends," Sophia tells her mom

"thank you so much for watching after her" Alex says gratefully

"it's not a problem, you're daughter is an angel," Kelley says to the woman

"Look what Dan gave me to give to Kelsey, it's a hat with her name on it!" Sophia says excitedly and shows her mother my cap

"Dan Parker? You're Kelsey's favourite player!" Her mom says recognising me

"so I've heard," I say winking over at Sophia

"we're flying back home to New York actually, she's been talking about the Worlds for the past month saying they're being held near us," Alex tells me

"that's awesome! Is she coming to any of the matches?" I ask

"We couldn't get the tickets in time, they sold out so quickly," Alex says shaking her head sadly

"I would love to give you and your family some tickets to watch us play if you want, mine can't be here because of work and I wouldn't want it to go to waste," I say to Alex, hopeful she'll take me up on the offer

"Are you serious! That would make Kelseys year if she could go to a game" Alex says a few tears filling in her eyes

"Here give me your phone so I can put my number in and give you all the details," I tell her and write my number into her contacts

"i don't know what to say, this will make so happy if she can go to a game," Alex says taking at me in shock

"well the tickets allow you to go to any game we're playing in the tournament, all the way to the final if we make it" I tell the woman

"I will make sure she goes to every single game, I know how much football means to her" Alex says and I smile at how great of a mom she is

"Kelsey is lucky to have a mom like you," I say truthfully to Alex knowing how much different it makes having supportive parents

"I'm lucky to have her thank you again for watching her and the hat and tickets, it's more than I could ever ask for," She says

"You're more than welcome, bye Sophia!" I say waving to the little girl

"bye Dan, bye Kelley," She says waving back as her mother returns her back to her seat

"That was really sweet of you babe," Kelley says smiling up at me

"It wasn't really much, the ticket would be wasted anyways at least now I know someone who wants to go can come to watch," I say shrugging my shoulders and pulling Kelley back into the position we were before

"Whatever you say babe," Kelley says chuckling slightly as she played her head in my chest and closes her eyes.

That seems like a good idea, get some sleep in before we arrive in New York to getting bombarded with everything

\- - - -

"ladies and gentlemen welcome to your new home for the next month" Coach says as we walk in to the hotel lobby.

"Fucking hell coach, this is some expensive shit" Charlie calls out 

"Fucking hell coach, this is some expensive shit" Charlie calls out

"language Charlie, and yes it is very expensive so do not break anything or it'll be coming out of your own pockets" coach tell the boys sternly

"right girls you're all pairing together I don't care who's with but these are your card," He says passing them to us one at a time

I don't bother waiting to see who's rooming with who and drag Kelley to the elevator before pressing our floor button

"what do you reckon our room looks like?" She asks me excitedly

"considering it's pretty high up I think we'll have a nice view," I tell her and once the doors open we find our room.

"its not the biggest but Jesus Christ that view is amazing" Kelley says as we step into our room

"tell me about it, can you imagine that when we wake up in the morning and see the sun coming up over the water," I say wrapping my arms around her back as we stare at our view 

"tell me about it, can you imagine that when we wake up in the morning and see the sun coming up over the water," I say wrapping my arms around her back as we stare at our view

"I've got a feeling this is going to be the best month of my life" Kelley says

Maybe you're right Kelley, this could be the best month in my life for more ways than one


	35. We're not leaving until we get this right 3 times in a row

"I wanna try something a little different this time boys, just in case," I say I gather everyone around in a huddle.

"every team will have watched gameplays of us to see where our weaknesses are so we have to come up with an unexpected play," I tell the team, coach gave me the go-ahead before practice so I just need to teach it to them

"Is it not a bit late to be trying new tricks?" Zack asks

"where we not the ones that did the Statue of Liberty for the first time in the game?" I reply back with getting him to shut up pretty quick.

"Alright this is how it's going to go down. We'll set up like a normal running play and trick the team into thinking we're going to Serv or Tobs, at this point Charlie you're going to let you man go and get past you" I say getting odd looks from everyone

"what! But as soon as I let him go he's going to pummel you to the floor" Charlie says

"I'm well aware of that Charlie but he's not going to get a chance because you're going to turn and I'm throwing the ball straight to you," I tell my centre forward

"This is going to be tough to pull off Dan," Jackson says

"You're right it is going to be difficult but we're the best team in America or did you all forget that? We've beaten the best teams across state like it was a pice of cake so why is this any different?" I say to my team not liking the attitude I'm getting

"your captain's right boys, I gave her the go ahead to run this through with you all because I believe that you can all do it" Coach says coming over

"I don't know about you lot but I'm down for anything, we've made it this far why not give everyone a show?" Tobin says backing me up

"I'm in" Serv says looking at me and putting his hand in the middle.

"Me too" Zach says and soon enough everyone has their hands in but Charlie

"What do you think Charlie, do you reckon you can help us pull this one off" I say to my main man

"I suppose it's worth a shot right" He sighs out smirking at us while we cheer.

"Alright then, show me how it's done," Coach says stepping back and letting us do our thing

The two teams split off and I head over to Charlie wanting to talk to him before we give this a try

"Charlie come here," I say waving the boy over

"I know what you're thinking and stop it, I wouldn't have suggested the play if I didn't have total confidence that you can do it," I tell him 

"I'm just worried if I let my guy go he's going to seriously hurt you," Charlie says and I put a hand on his shoulder

"Charlie listen to me okay, I'm going to be perfectly fine I can take a tackle any day of the week, all I'm worried about is getting the ball out of my hands and to yours," I tell him reassuringly

"alright you're just like a sister I never had and I don't want to see you hurt" Charlie tells me sincerely

"I'm the little sister that would beat your ass in a fight any day of the week so get your butt back in position," I say shoving him towards the players.

"Hut!" I yell to Charlie and receive the ball off him, he doesn't bother guarding his man at all and just lets him run right at me

"shit! I'm sorry Dan" He says running back to help me off the floor

"you're good Charlie, let's give it another go this time hold you man off for a few seconds alright, push him as far back as you can," I tell him and he nods his head before we set back up again

"Hut!" I shout for the second time and this time Charlie holds onto his man letting me her set up.

He lets his man go and starts sprinting upfield but he's not even looking at me so I can't throw the ball towards him and I'm tackled to the floor again. I'm glad I don't get hit to the floor every game

"Charlie, you have to turn around to look at me alright, I can't throw the ball to the back of your head," I say

"Right, sorry cap," He says and gets back again

"from the top boys!" I yell and we go again

We go through play after play, perfecting each person so it's just right and everyone is in the correct positions

"come on guys, we're not leaving until we get this right 3 times in a row" I say to the sweaty boys in front. Tobin and I seem to be the only ones still okay.

"Hut!" I yell and receive the ball again.

I watch Charlie pushing his guy hard and then quickly dart to the left side. I release the ball from my hands quickly making sure it reaches Charlie perfectly who turns and darts down the field.

The other team all try and come to tackle Charlie which lets him throw it straight to Tobin in the end zone.

"Fucking yes Charlie!" I shout happily having finally made the play we've been going over for almost an hour

"I did it Dan, I did it!" Charlie cheers happily taking off his helmet and jumping up and down in excitement

"Charlie boy you legend!" I say as we celebrate with each other

"Let's get it 2 more times and we can call practice," I say running back into position.

The next two run-throughs go perfectly and Charlie makes all his throws meaning we get to call practice, 40 minutes after it was meant to end but the boys know I want everything to be perfect.

"hit the showers team!" Coach yells at us and we all walk off the field finally

The girls all went out shopping while we had practice and we're meeting them later for a team dinner but right now I need an ice bath and badly

"right guys, you all know what time it is!" I announce happily which doesn't get the same reaction back

"I don't see their problems with ice baths" Tobin says to me as the two of us head off to the baths

We take off our pads and and gear and climb in with our shirts and bra tops on knowing the boys have seen it enough times to not care anymore

"How you feeling for the first game against Chile?" Tobin asks as we submerge ourselves

"Pretty confident actually, they're not really know for their football abilities" I say to my best friend

"What about you, nervous?" I ask sensing Tobin trying to tell me something

"If I'm being honest, yeah I am. I know you're a girl too and out there with me but I'm constantly getting tackled and I'm definitely not the biggest wide receiver out there, I'm for sure going to be targeted by all the teams as the weakest link" Tobin tells me

"But everyone else is missing the one thing that makes you the best receiver I know, your legs," I say

"I don't know anyone who can run up and down that field as fast and as much as you can, don't forget how easy it is for you to just weave between your guys," I tell her

"Yeah I guess your right" Tobin says letting out a sigh

"I know I'm right Tobs, who was the one to spend almost two months with you every night out on that field practising plays and throws if anyone knows you the best it's me," I say wanting her to feel confident in herself

"Yeah, thanks Dan, I just get in my head sometimes you know," She says shrugging slightly

"I know Tobs everyone does at some point but that's when you lean on the people that care about you, bottling up what your thinking doesn't help anyone," I say speaking from experience

"I'll speak with Chris tonight, she'll make me do some yoga and meditation and as much as I hate it, it does actually help" She says making me laugh.

Eventually, the boys reluctantly join us in the ice and we finish off our recovery before showering and getting ourselves freshened up to meet the girls

We head back to the hotel and I change into the smartest outfit I can find that isn't a dress meaning it's smart trousers and a shirt. Soon enough we get a cab to the restaurant and walk-in

"Reservation under Mathew" Coach says and I look at him in shock realising I never knew his real name till now

"I totally forgot that your real name isn't Coach" I say making him laugh as we're lead through the restaurant.

We arrive at the table to see the girls already sitting down. My eyes travel straight to Kelley and see what she's wearing, a skin-tight black dress with the necklace I bought her a couple of months back.

"Hey babe, how was practice," Kelley says standing up to hug me

"I-It was great thanks" I reply finding myself stumbling over my words

"what's up with you, are you okay?" She asks placing a hand on my forehead

"Freckles, have you seen what you're wearing" I whisper in her ear placing a hand on her thigh

"what's wrong with it, I know it's a lot fancier than normal but we are in New York" She says looking panicked

"no babe, you look so fucking hot like I could take you right now hot," I say getting me a slap on the babe

"Dan! We're in public" She whisper shouts at me

"I can help if my girlfriend is hot as hell" I say with a smirk on my face as I lean in and kiss her on the lips

"I knew their quarterback was a girl but a dyke too, I don't know why everyone's so worried about them" I hear some random person say

I look up angrily and see a group of boys standing near our table with smug looks, I can tell from their accent that they're team Australia.

"no one asked for your opinion, so just move along" I say to the guy

"we just wanted to say hello maybe get a few numbers, the girl next to you is looking very fine" He says licking his lips as he looks over my girlfriend

"Back the fuck away from my girl dude" I say angrily standing out of my seat, nobody treats my Kelley like she's just some object

"I'm going to ask you to leave boy" Coach says standing from his seat and getting infront of the guys face

"Alright old man, we're just having a laugh" The Australia douche says and smirks at me

"See you on the field" He says before laughing with his mates and finally leaving the table

"I'm going to fucking destroy that Australian dick when we play them" I seethe out having to be pulled back into my seat by Kelley

"He's trying to get in your head Dan, you've got to ignore him" Alex says to me

"I'm not letting him speak to my girl like she's a piece of meat," I say back

"We get that Dan but Kelley knows how to handle herself," Carli says speaking up

"Let's just enjoy dinner okay babe," Kelley tells me and pecks my cheek

I nod my head in response still annoyed that he thinks he can speak to people like that but I'm going to listen to Kelley and make sure to destroy him on the field.


	36. It's an honour to meet you, your father was an exceptional man

It's a game day against Chile and we're in the hotel having breakfast as a team, the energy is high for our first game of the tournament. Kelley's sitting with the other non-players since they all want us to focus together so the only sane person I've got to talk to is Tobin.

"did you speak with Chris last night?" I ask Tobs while eating my toast

"yeah I did, she reassured me that I'm on the team for a reason and we did some meditation together, I had the best night sleep since forever" She says making me laugh

"maybe I need to do some of Christen's yoga," I say jokingly

"Leaving in 20 everyone!" Coach announces and everyone clears up their plates to head to their room and get the last of their things.

I'm in the elevator with Kelley while I'm on my phone texting the Alex we met on the plane about the tickets I've left her

"who you texting babe?" Kelley asks as we walk to our room

"Just Alex from the plane, I'm trying to sort out where she can pick up the tickets for he daughter" I tell my girlfriend

"does Kelsey knows she's going to the game?" Kelley asks

"no, her mom said she's surprising her with them today" I say smiling happily at Kelley.

"I've got a feeling she's going to freak out" Kelley replies

We grab everything we need to take with us to the stadium, my bags with shoes and tape that I always wear before heading onto the team bus

I sit next to Tobin since she's always been my bus buddies for away matches and I'm not changing that now. When we pull up there are already a few fans waiting by the barriers to cheer us on, having arrived hours early just to see us enter

The girls all head to their seats in the family and friends box while us players go to the lockers to gear up, we walk in and see the USA kits on full display

The girls all head to their seats in the family and friends box while us players go to the lockers to gear up, we walk in and see the USA kits on full display   
We put it all on and wait around for a few seconds for a coach to come in and give us the rundown of today's game.

After being told the same stuff we usually get it's time to head onto the field for the first time reping our home kits and warm-up.

Loud cheers are heard as we head out of the tunnel from fans who have already taken their seats. We're expecting the majority of fans to be American since it's being hosted on our home turf which will be good to boost our confidence levels

I throw the ball back and forth with Serv, warming up my arm so I don't pull a muscle but mostly so we stick to our usual pregame routine.

When it's time to stand on the field and listen to our national anthem I can feel the goose bumps on my skin, never in a million years did I ever think this day was possible yet here I am, representing USA playing a sport that I love

\- - - -

"and the first game for the USA has been a 36-12 win over Chile, what did you think of their performance tonight Ricky?"

"There's been a lot of debate over this team and if they really are the best in America but after tonights maybe truly believe they are, the level of knowledge and awareness they had on that field you would think they were and NFL team."

"Their star quarterback Dan Morgan who has been making history this year with her performances has put on a show for everyone in attendance tonight"

"absolutely, her connection with Heath on that left side was phenomenal, they pair know exactly where the other is going to throw or be at all times and I think that duo is what will give the USA the advantage over other team's."

"I couldn't agree more with you Michael, now let's have a look at some of those amazing plays"

"First game in the bag guys! We've got Belgium next and we want to win the top of our group so we need to push hard for them. I'm proud of you all today we show everyone who's the strongest team" I say to the squad in the locker room

"now shower up cause you'll stink" I smirk at them

"How was it Tobs?" I ask sitting down next to my best friend as neither of us makes an effort to change

"the most surreal feeling I've ever had, I know we're used to playing in front of a couple of hundred but there where thousands out there tonight all supporting us." She says smiling and I can't help but smile with her feeling the exact same way

"its a feeling I'll never forget that's for sure" I reply patting her pads and getting up to change out of my gear myself

After everyone has freshened up and we're looking somewhat clean we head out onto the bus where the girls are already waiting for us. They start cheering loudly as we get on and wave their scarfs in the air.

"Well done guys! You smashed it out there" Ash says high fiving the ones that pass her by

"you did amazing babe" Kelley says as I walk past her

"thank you freckles" I reply quickly and take my seat next to Tobin

I let out a sigh when I relax into the chair my head still being on cloud nine. I turn to look at Tobin and she does the same thing, we end up staring at each other and just bursting into laughter for no reason

"who would've thought two girls would be helping lead the USA football team at Worlds" I say chuckling to myself

"definitely not me" She replies

The ride back is very loud and all the boys wanted to shout the whole way back, annoying coach and us very quickly. We do a short recovery session and are then given the afternoon off to explore the wonders of New York but Alex and I have other ideas

"I've told Kelley we're visiting a distant relative here" I inform Alex as we head towards the building

"that's good, did Richard says where he was meeting us?" Alex asks weaving through the busy crowds of New York

"Yeah he said he'll wait in the lobby for us, we should be there in about 3 minutes anyways" I reply checking my watch for the time

Richard is one of the scientists that worked for my dad, he gave me his number the day of my dads funeral and asked if I ever wanted to see what my dad did I should call so that's exactly what I've done

"that's got to be it," Alex says pointing to the huge building in front of us with the words 'AIM' written on the front

"This is definitely it" I mumble having a weird feeling about being back here

We walk inside and look around the place wondering where Richard could be but I haven't seen him since I was 13 so this may be a little tricky

"Dan Parker, look at how much you've grown up!" Richard says having spotted us first

"Hi Richard it's nice to see you again," I say smiling at the man and shaking his hand

"It's my pleasure, when you contacted me I was more than happy to hear from you," He says smiling widely

"Thank you again for this. By the way, this is Alex, she's my sister" I say gesturing to the girl standing next to me

"Nice to meet you Alex," Richard says shaking my sister's hand too

"Why don't I start our little tour, I'll show you where your dad worked," Richard says and Alex and I follow behind him

"Keep your eyes open for anything 'Hinkle' related" I whisper to Alex discreetly and she bods her head back both us wanting to make the most of the time we have here

We let Richard lead us around the building explaining the different rooms and what's goes on in them, it's actually quite interesting and I know it's something Kelley would love to hear about.

"so what did my dad actually do here, he was always closed off about his work I never got to know" I question Richard hoping he can give us some inside information about my dad's job

"well the work your father was doing was ground breaking, we where trying to create more effective and efficient drugs that would start working almost immediately after injection or consumption. This work was well above its years and your dad was our main scientists behind it all" Richard explains

"The thing that's different about these drugs is that they attack the damaged blood cells in the body and immediately start making antibodies to double the red blood cell count, by doubling the red blood cells in the body you're able to heal faster and quicker. And because you have these antibodies inside of you they don't go away, theoretically, nobody would have to feel the same pain twice." He tells us and I have to say I'm very impressed, that type of medicine could help countless patients

"If you wouldn't feel the same pain twice then how would you know if you'd injured yourself again, say you broke a bone for the second time how you would know about it" Alex asks surprising me that she was paying attention on the science part

"very good question Alex, it happens inside your body and doesn't affect the parts of your brain that receive pain. So if you'd break your leg for example, your brain would know that something is wrong but just wouldn't send any signals to the receptors that process the pain. That way you would know you've broken a bone or hurt yourself without feeling the pain that comes with it" He explains happily to Alex.

"your father was the greatest scientist that ever came through here, his work was years above everyone else but he was a very secretive man and worked longer hours and days than the rest of us." He says looking at me sadly

"when Darren passed away we tried to find his work but nobody knew where it was, we still don't now to this day" Richard explains

"I wish I could help you Richard but I don't know either, I didn't even know what he did," I say apologetically to him

"It's quite alright Dan, why don't I introduce you to the rest of the team," He says

"guys I want you all to meet someone special to this place," Richard says as we walk into the lab gaining the attention of his colleagues

"This here is Darren Parker's daughter Dan and her sister Alex," He tells them all getting a lot of shocked faces

"Nice to meet you all," I say awkwardly waving to them

"its an honour to meet you, your father was an exceptional man," Some guy says coming up to shake my hand

"he talked about you all the time, it's nice to finally see you in person," A woman says smiling at me

"I'm giving Dan here a tour of her dads place since she's never seen it and I thought I'd show her what we're doing in here" Richard explains to his crew

"we're carrying on your dad's research here but we are nowhere near where he was," Se other guy tells me

"how come you're telling me all this, not that I'm not grateful but dad always said it was confidential work?" I ask a little confused

"Darren always talked about how it was his dream to share all of this with you when you got older, he wanted you to know what his life work was" Richard explains and I feel my throat close up a little always having though dad cared more about his work than he did me

"so all this work, how is it funded does the government help you with money?" Alex asks and I know what's she's trying to get out

"the government wouldn't have enough funding for this all so a private company are the ones supplying us with the tools we need, and in return, we send them our research to keep them in the loop" Richard explains making me think for a second, is Christopher Hinkle that private company?

"This here is your father's old office," Richard says pushing the door open to a large room if anyone came in you'd think it was still in use

"how come it hasn't been packed up?" I ask confused, he's been gone for 3 years now

"Security reasons really, but we like having it here, reminds everyone to push themselves harder" Richard says a small smile on his face 

I look around the room and see the files everywhere, his desk with his mug and pens on it. Alex walks over to it and picks up a photo frame

"Are these your parents?" Alex asks the turning the frame around so I can see the photo inside.

It's a picture of my dad holding me on his shoulders and my mom takes his hand in hers. I remember the day being just after my 10th birthday and we went down to the fairground to celebrate, mom hadn't been diagnosed yet and everything was just perfect

"Yeah that's my mom and dad," I say taking the frame from her hands and running my fingers over my parent's faces

I've never seen this photo before and I don't have many of my parents since they were all thrown out by Brittany

"Could I have this Richard?" I ask the man

"of course, you take whatever you want just don't tell security" He replies smiling at me

I tuck the photo under my arm and head back out of the room where everyone else is

"I do have to ask, how come after all these years you reach out now?" Richard questions me

"After dad passed, Brittney moved us away so I was never close enough to come to visit" I explain

"how come you're here now then?" Another guy asks

"I'm here on a school trip with my football team, we're competing in worlds," I tell them

"really! You're part of team USA" Someone says sounding very shocked

"Darren always said you played soccer?" Richard says confused

"she does play soccer too and she's probably the best player on both teams," Alex says butting in and smirking at me

"shoot we really need to be heading back to the team hotel," I say checking my phone to see we're running late

"That's not a problem, I'll show you down," Richard says, we wave goodbye to the other scientists and follow Richard back to the lobby

We're about to leave when I spot a mailman coming in through the door carrying boxes, I don't think much of it until I look at the symbol on the front, it's the same one in Christopher Hinkle had in his storage unit.

"Richard who was your private benefactor again?" Alex asks clearly having noticed the same thing as me

"he's a pretty low lying millionaire, Christopher Hinkle, ever heard of him?" Richards says

Yeah we've heard of him alright, maybe he's closer to my father's death that I first though.


	37. Get in position then fellas, we're doing the Charlie

"And team USA have done it again they've won their final match of the group stage putting them clear on top and the highest score out of all groups"

"They have been a great team to watch play this tournament so far and let's talk about that Health catch at the end of the game, I think that's got a real chance of winning best catch what do you think Ricky?"

"Most definitely, being able to jump that high and catch it one-handed over her player is something not many players can do. I'm excited to see how she'll play against the tougher opponents"

"Me too Ricky, this team have really set the bar for all competitors and dare I say it but I think this is the best team USA have had competing, we may have a chance to win this one"

\----

"That was an awesome game Dan" Kelsey says as I come up to the family and friends box to see her

"Thanks Kelsey's, your coming to the next game right?" I ask the younger girl

"Of course! I can't wait to watch you beat another team" She says smiling up at me.

I sling my arm over her shoulder and we chat for a bit before I need to head back some and get on the bus for recovery. I take my seat next to Tobin

"that last catch was just stupidly good," I say making her laugh

"I didn't even realise I caught it until I hit the floor," She tells me

"if that doesn't win the best catch of the tournament then I don't know what would," I say smirking at her but she waves me off being too modest

When we arrive back we're sent straight to recovery not even getting a chance to see our girl's but we have a chill-out afternoon so it's okay.

The boys are all laughing and joking about some stupid thing probably but I can't seem to stop thinking about Christopher Hinkle and my dad.

My dad worked for Christopher Hinkle and somebody who's involved in his business killed my father, that can't be a coincidence, there has to be some connection with what my dad was doing and the reason why he was killed

"Dan!" Tobin shouts snapping me out my daze

"Sorry Tobs, what we're you saying?" I ask not realising she was talking to me

"It's fine dude, I was just telling you we're finished in here now" She tells me and I climb out the ice bath.

I head back up to my room where I know Kelley will be waiting for me and I plan to get straight into that bed. I open the door and see Kelley lying down scrolling on her phone

"Hey babe! You played amazing today like always" Kelley says full of energy to me

"too tired" I groan out and collapse next to her.

She just chuckles at me and puts her phone down to run her fingers up and down my back, something she knows helps relax me.

"what are we doing now?" I ask Kelley, mumbling it into the pillow as wait for her to tell me

"absolutely nothing, I planned on staying here and cuddling with you," She tells me and I hum happily liking the sound of that

Apparently, somebody else doesn't because there's soon a knock on my door and Kelley goes up to answer it.

"Babe, it's Alex with your mom in the phone," Kelley tells me.

I haven't spoken to mom in a couple of days since we've both been busy so I know I need to get out of bed and go speak with her.

"hey mom" I say waving to her through the camera

"hey sweetie! I managed to catch today's game you played amazing!" Mom says making me smile

"Thanks mom, how has work been?" I ask knowing she's been busy this week with her shift

"busy as usual, there's a bad case of the flu going around so I've got a lot of sick patients coming in" she explains

"stay safe mom, I don't want you getting sick" Alex says concerned about mom

"I've got the best immune system in America I'll be fine" She replies making me laugh

"How is Em getting on?" I ask hoping she's not being bothered at school

"she's here actually why don't I pass her to you for a second," Mom says and hands off her phone to Em

"Hey sis" Alex says smiling at the younger Morgan sibling

"He guys! How's New York, I bet the pizza is amazing over there" She says making me laugh

"you and your food Em, but we haven't gotten around to pizza yet so you'll have to wait for some feedback," I tell her

"How's school, Jaelene's not bothering you or those girls in your year are they," Alex asks thinking the same thing as me

"They tried to once but a couple of your girls came over and threatened them, they haven't bothered since," She tells us and I make a mental note to thank our teammates later

"Good, how's Jack?" I ask with a small smirk knowing she gets all flustered when I bring him up

"He's fine, I've had him around a lot since moms always working late in the week and you two aren't there to pester us 24/7," She says raising her eyebrows while the two of us this end smirk

"just no funny business, you're still a baby," Alex says sternly

"Alex I'm literally a year younger than you," Em says in defence

"I don't care, you're still my little sister Emelia," Alex says and I have to the butt in before the two start a fight

"Just keep it to kissing and everyone will be happy," I say winking at her

"I'll pass you back to mom now, good luck Dan for the next match," She says smiling at me and handing the phone back to Pam

"what's on the agenda for tonight then?" Mom asks us

"I think just a chill one, Serv and I were going to explore New York a bit more I don't know about Dan," Alex says looking at me

"Kelley and I are just chilling in the hotel, I'm way too tired to be going out" I tell her

"You should've said! I'll let the pair of you go now, stay safe out there I love you" mom says to us and we wave goodbye before Alex hangs up

"are you and Kelley really just chilling or are you doing something that you didn't want to tell mom?" Alex asks narrowing her eyes at me

"No were really just cuddling in bed," I say seriously to her

"Okay then, by the way when we get home we're going straight to the board, we've got a lot of things to figure out" Alex says before heading off to her room

We've got a lot of things to figure out for sure but right now I want to sleep for the next 2 days

\- - - -

"Boys get your head in the game! This is the fucking final we need to concentrate and beat Australia!" I say slapping Jackson on the helmet since he's the one to mess up the play

"sorry cap, it won't happen again," He says as we get in a quick huddle

"we're in the lead but only just so we need a play to get us ahead," I say

"What about the Charlie play?" Zack suggests mentioning the one we did the first day of training

"Charlie?" I question looking at him to see if he wants to do it or not

"let's do it cap" He says looking at me confidently

"get in position then fella, we're doing the Charlie" I say with a smirk

I get in my spot and place my mouth guard in, looking around the place to make sure everything is okay and set to go

"Hut!" I yell and catch the ball in my hands, I watch Charlie closely having to time my throw perfectly.

He pushes off his guy to one side and quickly spins to the left, I can see his player charging full speed at me and at the last second I jump up to throw it over to him and into Charlie's hand.

I'm about to celebrate Charlie's catch when the Australian player throws me to the floor standing on my ankle in the process

"That's a foul!" Coach yells in the side-line seeing me on the floor clutching my ankle

The referees disqualified the player for un-sportsmanship like conduct and he happily walks off with a smirk on his face, their coach patent his shoulder like he did a good thing

"We should never have some that play it's so stupid, now you're hurt," Charlie says rushing over to my side to help me

"I knew from the beginning I had a chance of getting hurt but we got the play didn't we," I say to him

"Dan, are you okay?" Tobin asks coming over to my side as well

"He got my ankle good but I can carry on," I say getting them to help me off the floor before the trainers come on the pitch

I give the coach the thumbs up on the side, trying to tell him I'm good to play and there's nothing to worry about but I really felt something ping in there.

"I know when your lying Dan, you're ankle is fucked isn't it?" Tobin says covering her mouth do no one can read what we're saying

"maybe a little, but we're up by 1 point and almost at the end zone, we need those 6 points, Tobin," I say not backing down from this

"What's the plan then?" She asks me knowing I'm too stubborn to be subbed off

"listen up fellas, I can't put much weight on this ankle so we're going to go old school," I say with a small smirk on my face

"I think we should pay some respect to the state we're in and do the Statue of Lfiberty," I tell my teammates

They all seem to like that idea and cheer happily since we've done this play plenty of times in practice but only used it once and that was in my first fame for this team, hopefully, Australia won't know what's coming.

"Tobin, Zach you guys ready for your big moment?" I ask my two friends

"we're more than ready," The pair say high fivibg each other

"You all know you're jobs, let's get us a touchdown," I say putting my mouthguard back in and getting into my spot.

I lean down and shout 'hut' and receive the ball in my hands from Charlie. I stand up quickly and fake throw to Tobin out on the right side before I feel Zach take the ball from behind my head.

And just like I thought, Australia wasn't ready for it at all and Zach is soon sprinting down the field getting closer and closer towards the end zone as the other players clear the path for him.

He dives last minute and manages to put the ball down in the zone before rolling out and giving us the 7 points clear lead over Australia

"Fucking get in Zach!" I yell as Charlie comes to hug me.

"fuck you Australia!" Charlie about making me laugh

He helps me hobble over towards the team where we're all jumping on Zach celebrating what's hopefully the game-winning touchdown. I glance over at coach and see him just standing there amongst the chaos, a small smile in his lips

There are only 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter and unless they pull off some miracle play with one less player we've got this in the bag.

Tobin takes the kick like usual and fly's it over the bar giving us the point ahead. I get my team focused again for the last time tonight and we wait for Australia to make their play.

The pressure seems to get to them and their quarterback fumbles the ball as it's passed to him and we don't waste any time in pouncing on it straight away. Jackson's the first to get there and he tackles the guy straight to the floor.

"yes Jackson!" I yell hobbling over to my teammate

"they're going to kick and run Dan" I hear a coach say in my ear so I nod my head letting him know I've heard

Coach was right and they kick the ball upfield trying to chase it but my guys are there to catch it and run down the clock. The final whistle blows and I collapse to my knees.

We just won worlds, our first time competing and we just won!

"Dan! We fucking won!" Tobin says tackling me to the floor

"I know Tobin, like what the fuck," I say laughing with her.

The boys all come over and we end up in a dog pile in the pitch water being thrown at us from somewhere

"Boys I can't breath" I chuckle out from the bottom of the pile and eventually everyone gets off me.

Serv helps me stand up but it's not much use since that player fucked up my ankle and can't walk too far without it throbbing.

He calls Zach over and the pair of them lift me off the ground placing me on their shoulders as we walk around the field listening to the cheers of the fans who have come to watch us play.

I just lead my team in winning Worlds, something my state has never done before and there are over 60,000 people here to witness it. I hope you're proud dad


	38. Maybe I should have left the pair of you in New York

"Why does it feel like I've been hit by a truck?" I groan out rubbing my eyes having just woken up

"That would be the mountain load of alcohol you consumed last night," Kelley says rolling over so she's laying on top of me

"ah yeah, it's coming back to me now, why did I have a drinking contest with Zach he's like twice my size," I say making Kelley chuckle

"I'm surprised we even got into that club, how did the bouncers let us in?" Kelley says

"We has just won worlds, maybe they thought we were older than we actually are," I say not knowing how we got away with it either.

"How's the ankle this morning babe?" Kelley asks and I go to move it slightly but met with a sharp pain

"Erm a lot worse than I expected actually" I reply letting out a nervous chuckle as Kelley grows concerned.

She pulls back the covers to show my ankle having doubled in size and turning a blue and green colour up my leg

"Babe! You said you just fell on it funny, this looks really bad!" Kelley gasps out

"it wasn't that bad yesterday and all the alcohol kind of numbed the pain," I say while she glares at me

"You're unbelievable, I'm getting the trainers to have a look at it," She says and walks out our room

A few minutes later our trainer walks in along with a couple of the girls as they all start looking over my ankle

"How have you been able to walk on this Dan, it's in really bad shape," The trainer says looking at my foot in disbelief

"I don't know, it wasn't that bad until I tried to move it this morning," I say gritting my teeth as she pokes at it

"you probably fucked it up more when you were dancing on the stage with Ash last night," Tobin says making me smirk at the memory

"that was totally worth it" I grin high fiving Ash

"I can't do much with it now since we're flying out in a couple of hours so I'll strap it up and give you some crutches," The trainer says and leaves to get her stuff

"I hate crutches with a passion, can I not just get Kelley to push me around all day" I whine out looking at my girlfriend

"I look after you enough, I'm not being your slave for the day too," She says raising eyebrows up at me

"you weren't saying that last night when I took care of you" I reply giving he a quick wink as she blushes profusely

"I did not need to know that Dan, Jesus Christ," Alex says gagging at my comment

"it's not like you and Serv didn't get it on last night too," I say back and Alex mouth stats opening and closing like a fish clearly having been caught out

"Why don't we all stop talking about our sex lives and get ready for the flight back home," Kelley says ushering the people out of our room.

"You're a handful and a half you now right?" She says standing a the end of the bed with her arms folded over her chest

"Yes but you love me for it," I say grinning ear to ear at her

"I suppose I do" She replies jokingly rolling her eyes and leaning forward to kiss my lips

After the trainer comes back in and wraps up my ankle giving me some drugs for the pain also, Kelley carries both our bags down to reception while I trail behind on my crutches

"Dang, what happened to you Dan?" Charlie asks as the boys all see us

"It was that Australian player from the game, he messed up my ankle bad," I tell them, giving them a quick hug

"Those guys were cocky little shits and I'm so glad we can rub it in their faces," Zach says smirking

"Alright you lot, lets head onto the bus and get back home!" Coach announces as we all cheer, New York is great don't get me wrong but I want to be back in my own bed and town

"Am I allowed to sit next to my girlfriend on this bus ride or do you still have to be next to Tobin?" Kelley asks a small smirk on her lips

"Nope, I'm all yours don't worry," I tell her and follow behind as she gets into her seat

Last night was the craziest experience ever, after we were awarded our trophy and medals the whole team and the girls went out to a bar. It was a wild night, to say the least, somehow Ash and I ended up in the table dancing for our girlfriends getting a lot of cheers from people watching and embarrassed looks from our respected partners.

It's all a bit of a blur this morning but I know for sure it's a night I'll never forget. The bus ride is fairly quick to the airport and soon enough we're getting off, medals wrapped around our necks and the Worlds trophy securely in my arms as I crutch through the airport.

We get in and are met with the unexpected cheers from fans clearing waiting for us to arrive, I spot Alex and Kelsey in the corner of my eye making me smile and head their way

"Hey guys! How are you doing today?" I ask hugging Alex and her daughter

"Amazing, I still can't get over yesterdays win against Australia, the Statue of Liberty play you did was so cool and then that other one, what was that even called?" Kelsey excitedly rambles out making me chuckle

"I actually came up with it on the first day of training here, we called it the Charlie since he's the guy doing the running," I tell the youngster

"Well I think they should name it after you, call it the Morgan instead," She says grinning from ear to ear

"I like that, you'll have to tell people about it for me," I tell her

"deal!" She replies high fiving me

"I can't thank you enough for all of this Dan, you've got the kindest heart of any person I've met and you're only 18! I hope to see you again soon" Alex says hugging me tightly

"Me too Alex, if you ever head my way text me, I'd love to see your two again soon," I tell the mother deciding not to correct her on my age and bid my farewells to them and follow my teammates to our terminal

The Australian team are there too, bitter looks on their faces as we just smirk their way, rubbing in the fact we won and not them just a little bit more

"you doing okay with those things?" Kelley asks gesturing to my crutches

"Okay, I've never liked using them," I tell her

"How many times have you needed them," She asks looking at me sideways

"Maybe like 3 or 4 times but I always threw them to the side after like 2 days, maybe that why my ankle is so bad," I say shrugging

"Yeah, it definitely is Dan, did you not listen to your doctors when they said you needed to rest it?" She says looking a me unimpressed

They let me on the plane first since I'm the only cripple and Kelley and I find our seats up in first class. We relax into our chairs, getting ready for the long-awaited flight back home

\- - - -

"My girls! I've missed you both so much the house is too quiet with you gone" Mom says greeting us at the airport with a hug

"We've missed you too mom," Alex says laughing at her

"Come on let's get you lot in the car," She says taking some of the bags off Kelley so she's not carrying too much

"It feels good to be back home" Kelley's sighs out, a small smile on her face

"Yeah, it does" I reply just admiring her for a second

"How's the ankle sweetie, you weren't in too much pain on the way home right?" Mom says fussing over me as I climb into her car

"Mom its been fine," I say trying to calm her little panic down

"As soon as we drop everything off home we're going straight to the hospital to have it looked over" She tells me sternly

I sit in the back along with Kelley as we catch mom up on all the things we got up to while in New York, we decide to leave out the last night antics for good reasons. We pull up to Kelleys home and I shuffle across my seat to lean out the window as she gets out

"Thank you for the lift home Pam" Kelley says to mom

"You're more than welcome sweetie" She replies with a smile

"I don't think I've said this yet but thank you for coming with me and being there to support me, it really does mean the world" I tell her honestly

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world Dan, and I only really went for the pizza," She says with a small smirk making me chuckle

"Well for whatever reason you came, I loved every second of it" I say leaning forward to slowly kiss her on the lips, both of us sinking into the moment for a few seconds

"I'll see you at school soon," She says breaking the kiss, I just smile and nod my head as she walks up the drive

"You're sickly in love," Alex says to me pulling a face

"Shut it you," I say hitting the back of her head

"Mom! Dan just hit me on the head!" She says

"You asked for it!" I retaliate back

"Maybe I should have left the pair of you in New York" Mom mumbles out and driving off

After reluctantly being taken to the hospital they examine my ankle and see its a bad sprain and my foot will be put in a boot for 2 weeks so it can heal properly. We're now getting back home and Alex pulls us straight up to our room, saying to mom we're crashing from the plane ride.

"We've got a lot to put down on this board and start piecing it all together, I know you tried forgetting about it to focus on the tournament but we need our thinking caps on right now" Alex says back to me with determination in her eyes

"Lets get this started with then. So we know that Christopher Hinkle is the one sponsoring my dads old work, he had the supplies box in his storage unit and Richard confirmed it for us" I say

"Right, but why does he have the box there, if he's being sent drugs why because Richard said they're no where near ready yet?" Alex questions as we add everything to the board

"Are we saying that he's now officially the main suspect?" I ask Alex not wanting to name something as big as that

"I mean we thought it was Mick for the longest time but he was the drug runner, Hinkle is the only guy high enough to have control over what comes in and out of his business," Alex says as I hum in agreement

"what I can't figure out is why would he want a drug that cures people if pain, he's killed God knows how many people all because of his drug ring," I say to her

"Maybe he doesn't want other people finding out about it and selling his product for more than him?" Alex suggests

"No that wouldn't make sense because Richard said it doesn't work yet and there tons of dangerous side effects that come with it" I really back, my eyes scanning over the board

"Maybe that's it!" Alex says turning to look at me like she's cracked the code

"Richard said the drug wasn't close to being finished right and you're dad was the only one but all his work went missing" Alex starts to explain

"He's selling the faulty drugs! Part of the companies deal was to send the formulas for each experiment and he must be replicating them in the factor at Camden Forest" I say clicking on the what she's saying

"Exactly! Richard kept saying how your dad was way ahead of his time, what if he figures out the formula for it all and wanted to share it with the world but if he did that Christopher wouldn't be able to sell the faulty drugs anymore" Alex says and my heart drops having realised where this all leads

"Christopher was the one who fucking killed my dad, he'd clearly gotten close to getting it perfect and maybe with all the long nights my dad had been spending there he figured out what was happening with the faulty ones and Hinkle couldn't have that," I say

"it adds up too, Brittney was probably sent to get close to your dad and find out what he knew about the whole operation," Alex says

"Also remember that conversation I overhead Mick having about how it had done too far, he was probably going to expose the operation and Christopher had everyone involved killed so it wouldn't get out an framed it on Mick," I tell her

"Hinkle is behind this whole thing, he was the one to kill you dad and then Brittney and Mick" Alex states taking a seat

"He might have thought he'd gotten away with it back then but he's not getting off twice, I'm about to end this son of a bitch once and for all," I say looking at Alex confidently


	39. What do you think life's going to be like after high school?

It's Monday morning and Alex is driving me to school since my bikes in the shop and I'm still on crutches. I've got the Worlds trophy on my lap and I'm ready to show it off proudly.

"Apparently Jaelene was fuming when she found out you won," Alex tells me laughing

"for real! Why was she mad?" I ask confused

"Dan, you're the quarterback of the school's football team who has just won worlds and also won Nationals with the soccer team, you're officially more popular than Jaelene" She says

"ugh, does that mean I have to be nice to every person that talks to me" I say scrunching up my face

"You're not anyways Dan" She says laughing at me

We continue to joke around for the rest of the ride talking about random stuff really but it's moments like this that I'm grateful to have people in my life like Alex, I know I've only known her for less than a year but it feels like she's been apart of my life forever.

She's my sister, and that's it. Growing up I've always wanted another sibling to spend time with, share stories that I couldn't tell my parents and bond over mutual interests. I have that with Alex now and I'll forever be grateful for it

"Right you cripple, here's your bag," Alex says leaning into the back seat to pass it to me before I use my crutches

"Cheers Lex, can you grab the trophy," I say and she takes it off my lap and walks to my side

"let's go captain, we've got a bitches face to rub this in," She says smirking at me

We make the walk up the school steps and I've got my Leatherman jacket on for today as all the school students clap as I go past them.

"This is so weird, why does it feel like we're in a movie scene?" Alex whispers to me

I part ways with Alex and head towards my locker, balancing my crutches to one side and trying to get my books out of my bag but only having one working leg is making this task a lot harder.

I'm trying to organise everything when I knock my crutches over to one side

"Fucking hell" I groan out and go to lean down but I'm beaten by someone else

"Looking for these babe?" Kelley says smiling at me

"I've said it once and I'll say it again, I hate crutches" I grumble out

"which is why I offered to help you out today but you're too stubborn" She says glaring at me

"Alright fine, could you please help me get my books out for a lesson," I asked rolling my eyes at her

"Of course I will babe," She says with a smile and gets my maybe and Portuguese books out

"I don't think I've ever heard you speak Portuguese before?" Kelley says and I smile having had an idea

"Eu vou casar com você uma palavra" I whisper into her ear as I feel her shiver slightly

"You're definitely saying whatever that was during sex," Kelley says looking at me shocked

"Okay babe," I say letting out a chuckle "I'm heading to see coach and give him his trophy, tell miss I'll be a little late for maths," I tell Kelley

"Okay, will do" she says pecking my lips and walking off.

I make my way towards coaches office, waving at more people as I make my way there, and knock on his door

"come in!" he shouts out

"Hey coach, thought I'd come give you this thing" I say with a small smile as I hand him the Worlds trophy

"Thank you Dan, how's the ankle doing?" he asks

"It's getting there, it shouldn't be in the boot too much longer and then I can start slowly getting back into things," I tell him

"I just wanted to also say thank you," Coach says making me look at him weirdly

"Why do you want to thank me?" I ask confused

"you won us a Worlds title Dan, you made my childhood dream of being part of the USA squad a reality and I can't thank you enough for it," The guy says to me

"are you kidding me? Coach you let me play for your team even though I was a girl, the last two schools I've been to have just laughed in my face when I asked, so you're the reason we won coach, not me" I say to him

"well let's just say we both helped each other out," He says chuckling and hugging me

"Okay coach, I'll see you in class later" I at and head out of his office to Maths with Kelley

I walk through the door and everyone's heads turn my way and they all start clapping loudly at me.

"Congratulations on your win Parker," My teacher says as I crutch to my seat

"its Morgan now miss but thank you," I say sitting down next to my girlfriend

"its official, you're more popular than the head bitch herself" Kelley says with a smirk

\- - - -

"Welcome back ladies and gentlemen, today's a special assembly for our school because we're celebrating a great achievement that has happened." Mr Davis says and I roll my eyes knowing exactly what's about to be said

"unless you've been living under a rock you would now that our football team competed at Worlds for team USA and our school went and won the tournament," He says and the whole auditorium erupts into cheers

"and I'd like to welcome your quarterback onto the stage," He says smiling at me

"I did not sign up for this" I grumble as Serv laughs next to me

I crutch up towards the headteacher and send him a fake smile as I situate myself behind the stand 

"I didn't know I was meant to be saying something so I don't have anything planned," I say getting a laugh out the crowd

"I guess I'd like to say thank you to my teammates for being the best possible, every single one of them had my back since day one when other members of the team disapproved of me being there," I say sending a glare towards Lawson and what's remaining of his crew

"Also a huge thanks to all the coaching staff that was there to make sure we were safe and didn't party too hard," I say with a small smirk at the boys all start whooping

"and the main thank you has to go to Coach, the guy who made us of this happened, so thank you, coach, from the bottom of all our hearts you're the best," I say winking at him cheekily and walking back to my seat

"thank you for that Dan, now for the Juniors, it's the time of the year where applications for Colleges need to be sent off and you may be receiving some offers from various ones too" He starts to say again and I zone out of the rest not wanting to listen to that right now.

"where are you thinking off applying then babe," Kelley asks as we walk out of the assembly

"Probably just wait to see who gives me offers but I'm thinking Stanford, Berkeley, UNC and UCLA maybe," I tell her

"That's a good pick, if I get offers from Stanford then I'm going there but otherwise I'll just have to see who gives me full rides," She tells me

"There will be countless colleges offering you scholarships to go to their school Kel, don't stress about it," I say to my girlfriend already knowing what she's thinking

"Yeah I know. Do you think you'll be able to play in the send off the game?" Kelley asks me talking about the last game for our senior members

"I hope so, I'd everything goes to plan the doctor should clear me the day before," I tell her

"That's good, it wouldn't be the same if you couldn't play with them" She says to me

"I can't believe that they're graduating this year, I feel like I've only just got to know them and now they're leaving," I say trying to imagine what it will be like without them all

Ash and Ali bickering to each other or Hope and Carli telling off the freshman. Hell I'm going to miss seeing Becky sitting doing her crosswords in the corner silently judging us all.

"What do you think life's going to be like after high school? These people we've spent, in your case, almost 5 years with every day suddenly not together all the time" I say as we walk out of the school and to our spot under the tree

"I don't really know babe, different for sure but we've all been a team since the beginning that doesn't change now that people are moving away. And we'll most likely see them all when we play for our colleges against them next year" She says smiling at me and helping to lower me to the floor

"Yeah I guess so, I've always just done things by my self you know, got through daily life without a group of friends or family to lean on but now I have that and I'm scared that when people start to leave... I don't know" I sigh out getting annoyed with myself for even feeling this way

"babe look at me," Kelley says grabbing my chin to turn me towards her

"you're never not going to have us okay, you're the one who promised not to leave and I'm saying the same thing to you," She tells me

"Have I ever told you how amazing you are?" I say smiling at her

"Maybe a couple of times but definitely not enough," She says smugly and kisses my cheek

\- - - -

"girls there are some important letters for you here!" Pam yells to Alex and I as we make our way through the door

"important letters?" I say confused as to what she means

We go to the kitchen where Pam is waiting for us with Emelia, a handful of letters in each hand. She passes them over to us and we look at them in surprise

"college letters already? We've only just had the assembly today" I say not expecting to have gotten them this quickly

"you guys are top athletes, colleges want to give you offers as soon as possible" Mom tells us

"Thanks mom, I think we'll head up to our room and have a look at the first," Alex says and grabs my hand, pulling me to our room

"Are you okay Dan, you went very pale when mom said that they were from colleges?" Alex asks sitting me down on the bed

"Yeah sorry, I was just a little taken back that we got them so quickly I haven't really thought much about colleges until this year," I tell Alex wiping off the sweat that's accumulated on my palms

"This isn't anything final Dan, it's just colleges shooting their shot to try and get you to come to them," She tells me placing her hand on my shoulder and giving it a light squeeze

"come on then, let's have a look at who wants our sexy butts to represent their colours," I say making her roll her eyes at me

After opening all the letters Alex and I had a total of 11 offers so far between us. I had UNC, Stanford, UCLA, Berkley, Penn State and Michigan.

"Berkley has offered me a full soccer scholarship! Can you believe it, that's been my dream school since forever" Alex says excitedly

I look through my offers and throw away UNC, Penn State, Michigan and UCLA straight away because the other two have offered something that nobody else has, and that's a chance to play football too.

"We can go to Berkley together Dan! Imagine both Morgan's on the same team, it would be amazing" Alex says to me but I just sit there looking over the two, my head going around a million miles an hour

"Y-yeah Lex, I think I'm going to head out actually, get some fresh air, tell mom I'll be back in a bit," I say and rush out our bedroom door as quickly as I can with my crutches, and straight out the house

How do I choose between Stanford and Berkley? One has my sister going to it and it's close to home but the other is my legacy and not to mentions Kelleys school too, how am I supposed to decide?

"I thought you could use a third party on this situation" I hear Em say making me whip my head around to see her behind me

"Hey Em" I sigh out as she's caught up to me

"Let me guess, you've been offered a place at Stanford and Berkeley and you don't know which one to go to since one has your girlfriend in and the other has your family," She says and I look at her in shock wondering how the hell she got all that

"Just because I'm not always around doesn't mean I don't know stuff," She says

"I don't want to upset anyone Em when Alex saw I had an offer from Berkley she was so happy at the thought of us play in together but for the past couple of months all Kelleys been talking about it us going to Stanford and me carrying on my mothers legacy," I say throwing my hands in the air

"your mom went to Stanford?" Em asks not knowing that about me

"Yeah, I've only told Kelley that but she studied and played sports there and that's how she met my dad," I tell her

"Wow I didn't know that" She whispers out as we walk together silently for a few seconds

"I can't tell you where to choose Dan, nobody can. It has to come from you and I think deep down you know which is the right place for you" Emelia says to me

"When did you get so... Mature?" I reply letting out a small chuckle as I wrap an arm around her shoulder

"I am 16 you know Dan, only a year younger than you," She says using my arm off her

"I'm almost 18 little Em, you're not even close," I say jokingly to her

Maybe deep down I do know where I want to go, I've just got to let someone down because of it


	40. Ew that's gross on so many levels so please stop talking

"So, I have some news for you" I say crutching in next to Kelley as we walk down the school hallways

"Okay? What does this news involve then" She asks me

"It has to do with what college I'm going to after all this" I say with a small smile making her stop to look at me

"No way! Did you get your letters already too" Kelley says pulling me towards somewhere a little more private

"I did, and one happened to be a full ride to Stanford" I tell her making her squeal out in excitement

"I got mine too! I'm going to Stanford with you babe" She says and I pull her into a tight hug

"Have you told Pam and Alex?" She asks me

"I did last night, I kind of ran out the house when I got all the letters because Berkeley also send me one" I explain a little sheepishly

"Berkley offered you a place? That's Alex's dream school how come you didn't take that" Kelley asks

"that's exactly it, it's her dream school and as much as I want to go to college with my sister and I've close to my family I know Stanford is the right choice for me," I tell her happily, knowing I've made the right decision

"This is going to be so good babe, me and you playing together on the field, we can get a dorm together!" Kelley says excitedly listing off everything quickly

"freckles, chill for a second," I say grabbing her shoulders

"Sorry babe, I'm just excited" She replies taking a deep breath

"I know babe, so am I," I say and kiss her on the lips

"so I heard you're both going to Stanford, I bet you're excited for that" I hear a voice say making my blood boil already

"We are Jaelene, now if you'd move along I'd much appreciate not having to see you anymore," I say narrowing my eyes at her

"you better get used to it, I'll be seeing you for another 4 years" She replies with a wink before strutting off

"nuh huh, she is not going to Stanford! There's no way she's going to Stanford! I won't let it happen, I'm not having the best 4 years off my life ruined because of her" I say pointing angrily in her direction as Kelley tries to calm me down

"babe calm down! We don't know for sure yet she may just be messing with your head" Kelley says trying to reason with me

"lets just get to class so I don't have to think about this any longer" I grumble out and reposition my backpack before crunching towards class with Ash

\- - - -

The next week in school isn't much different, I'm finally off my crutches though and we're getting ready for the senior's last game. The atmosphere in the locker room is a little weird right now, nobody sure on how to approach this whole thing

"Why does it feel like we've just lost a final in here, we haven't even got on the field yet?" I whisper to Alex as she's does my tape job

"I don't know, when Abby and Lauren left last year it wasn't like this but then Abby made sure we were all celebrating, it looks like a funeral in here" She whispers back as we glance at the very dull team

"I hope they're not all like this at my funeral, Jesus. We need to do something and fast otherwise we're going to lose this game," I tell Alex who nods her head

"do you have any ideas?" She asks me

"well what always gets this team pumped before a game," I say to her

"music" she replies clicking on to what I'm getting at

She runs towards the speakers and connects her phone to them while I stand up at the front

"listen up people!" I shout getting all head to turn my way

"I'm sick of looking at your miserable faces when we should be smiling and laughing with each other today. It's our seniors last game before they head off to college and I know for sure I don't want to remember it as the worst game we played, do you?" I say to the group

"so can all of you please get off your sorry asses and enjoy the last game we have together," I tell the team

Alex turns on the music and it just happens to be Kelley and I's favourite song, I turn to look at her with a smirk on my face and she quickly gets up

"would you like a dance my fine lady" I say in a posh British accent, holding out my hand for her to take

"of course," She says back giggling

I pull her quickly into me, one hand on her waist as the other intertwines with her fingers, soon enough we're both galloping around the room laughing our heads off.

The team all start to stand up too, grabbing a hold of whoever's close enough and spinning around in circles. The song soon ends and we're all a laughing mess.

"Thanks Dan, we needed that" Ash says hugging me tightly

"come on you lot! We've got a game to be playing!" Coach yells kicking he all out of the lockers

\- - - -

"I'm going to miss playing with you Carlos," I say as I sling my arm over her shoulder having just won the game

"me too Dan, we actually need to speak with you and the team for a second" Carli says making me wonder who 'we' is

"team huddle!" Carli shouts to the locker room getting everyone's attention.

"as you all know, Becky and I are the captains of this team and it's also our senior year meaning we have to hand off the armband" She explains slipping the one that's on her arm off

"we've talked about this between the pair of us and we know it's the right decision to make," Becky says

"We are making Dan the new captain of this team" Carli announces smiling at me

The whole team start cheering loudly as I stand up in shock, not wondering why the hell I was chosen to captain this team.

"w-why did you pick me?" I ask her confused

"are you serious Dan! What you did today just solidifies everything, you brought us back together as a team when we were down, and that's exactly what a captain looks like" She says sliding the band up my arm

"Babe! You're the captain! How does it feel to be in charge of both the football and soccer team?" Kelley asks coming up to me

"shocking?" I say as more of a question than answer

"proud I think is the word you're looking for," She says and leans up to kiss me

"after this why don't you and I head up to our coffee spot and get something to eat," I ask her

"that sounds great babe" She replies.

"perfect, Alex is taking me to pick up my bike later so I'll meet you after that," I tell Kel and get back to changing into my clean clothes

I'm getting dressed out of my dirty kit, planning to have a shower when I get back home when Alex comes over to me

"you ready to go, captain," She says with a smirk making me roll my eyes

"Nope, I'm not having that happen on this team too thank you very much," I say as the pair of us wave goodbye to our teammates and to Alex's car

"I'm going out for dinner with Kelley before the team party, you okay to drive me to the garage a little earlier?" I ask climbing into the passenger seat

"Yeah no problem, I'll go to Servs beforehand to chill then," She says

"like there will be much 'chilling' going on with you two," I say causing her to slap my arm

"don't think I didn't hear you two the other night in the spare room, I had to bleach my ears out," She says and visibly shivers to make me laugh

"We have to make the most of the free time we get together, schools chaotic at the moment with colleges and finals coming soon" I reply

"tell me about it, I'm grateful to have my College choice sorted and that can be put to one side but this school work will be the death of me" Alex groans out as she drives us home

"I'll tell you what I did see the other day in school though" I start to say peaking Alexa curiosity

"what! Was it something to do with Jaelene she hasn't done anything in a while and I'm getting suspicious" Alex say

"no, nothing to do with her but I spotted our little Em going into the janitors closet with the boyfriend," I tell her and I've never seen Alex's head whip towards me so quickly

"WHAT! She went in there with Jack!" Alex practically screams out in the car

"yes she did, I don't think they did anything though because I waited around the corner until they came out and both were normal-looking," I say

"you could have led with that Dan! I thought my little sister was having sex in the school's janitor closet!" Alex says

"I mean, I have," I say just shrugging my shoulders

"ew that's gross on so many levels so please stop talking" Alex replies turning her nose up at me while I laugh at her expression.

We arrive back home and Alex parks her car in the garage as we make our way inside our home, wondering where mom could me.

"mom! We're home!" I yell, chucking my bags to one side

"I'm in the garden" We hear being shouted from outside

I look at Alex confused as to why our mom is in the backyard, somewhere she never goes. We go outside to see her lounging in a deck chair with a glass of wine in her hand

"mom? Everything okay?" Alex asks wondering what the hell is going on

"everything is great actually, I've just been promoted at work and thought I'd have a little celebration in my garden" She explains

"that's great mom! You deserve to get a raise with how long you've been working at that hospital" Alex says and I hum in agreement

"Thanks girls, how did your game go?" She asks us

"Really good actually, we both scored a goal each and we ended up winning 4-0 so the seniors were happy about that" I explain

"that superb, you've got a party tonight right?" Mom asks us again

"Yeah, we both heading out early actually to pick up Dan's bike and then she's going on a date with Kelley so I'll probably swing by Servs and then meet at the party" Alex explain

"That sounds fine, you two go have fun and be safe alright," Mom says to us and we both head upstairs to our room.

"Have you heard back from Richard yet?" Alex asks me

"no not for a couple of weeks actually, he's not responding to any of my messages," I say letting out a sigh

"We really need him to reply so we can get that number from the FBI and finally end this whole thing," Alex says and I couldn't agree more

After we've both showered and gotten dressed into some fresh clothes for tonight we say goodbye to Pam and hop back into the car to drive to the garage out of town

"they better have taken care of my baby there, if she had a single scratch on her that she didn't have before I will beat them all up one by one," I say to my sister

"Jesus Dan, there's no need for that reaction" Alex replies glaring at me

"what! You were the exact same when I took your car for my first date with Kelley" I say and she starts laughing at the memory

"God, that feels so long ago," she says

"tell me about it, almost a year actually" I reply thinking back to my first few weeks in this town and how different I was back then

"it's crazy to think of what's changed around here since then, in school, at home, on the team, even in the town as a general" Alex says making me think

"This place has been the best thing to happen to me and I'll be forever grateful that my shitty life brought me here and to you lot," I say making Alex look at me with a smile.

"if that's your way of saying I love you to me then I love you t-"

Alex doesn't get a chance to finish her sentence because her car is soon hit on the side and we're rolling down the road, glass shattering to pieces around us and the sound of the tires squeaking against the tarmac ringing through my ears

The car eventual comes to a stop, the metal roof scrapping its way down the road, small sparks being made from the friction until we're left dangling upside down.

"a-Alex!" I try to shout out, my voice breaking as I look around, trying to get a grip of my surroundings.

I look over to my sister and see her dangling upside down, blood dripping off her temple and she doesn't move a muscle. Her airbag is deflated having been punched by some glass and I'm worried it didn't do it's job in protecting her

"Alex! wake up!" I shout trying to free myself of the jammed seatbelt buckle.

I eventually get it off and fall onto the roof of the car, some glass cutting me in the process but all I can think about is getting to Alex and helping her out.

I try to stand up but there's a searing pain in my left leg and I look down to see a huge cut running up my thigh, blood draining down my legs as I hobble towards her side in a desperate attempt to do something

I need to get to Alex, there's no way she's dying on me right now, I'm not going to let that happen. I suddenly see some people coming our way and I start shouting at them to hurry up

"Please help us! She's not waking up!" I scream at the people who seem to be coming in our direction.

I go to take another step closer to Alex but the pains too much and I collapse to the floor right in front of the cars broken windshield. I know I'm losing too much blood right now and soon enough I'll pass out from the blood loss.

I look at Alex and I can't see her chest moving anymore, it's not going up and down! Come on Alex please don't be dead.

I watch as the people get closer and one heads straight over to Alex while the other comes towards me. I'm going to die, I can just tell

"Please, save her" I mumble out, but soon enough the blood loss is too much and I can feel my eyes closing more and more.

Maybe this is the end of it all.


	41. You destroying the joint isn't going to help anyone Kelley

Kelley's POV

I check my watch again as sit in our usual booth at the Diner we agreed to meet at over 30 minutes ago. Dan isn't a person who's late and when she is I always get a text to tell me yet I haven't got anything

"can I get you anything Kelley?" Stacy the usual lady that takes Dan and I's order when we're here asks

"not yet Stacy, just waiting for Dan to arrive first," I say sending her a warm smile 

"no problem sweetie, let me know if you need anything," she says and walks off to order another table.

The minutes start to count down longer and longer and it's now been 45 minutes since she was meant to meet me and I'm really starting to worry. I've called her phone a dozen times and it just rings out until it goes to her voicemail.

I decide to ring Alex too, hoping she might know where my girlfriend is and tell me why the hell she's running so late but just like Dan the calls goes to voicemail.

I'm fed up of waiting around any longer so I put $5 on the table before leaving and calling one person who might also know where the pair could be

"Hey Kelley, everything okay?" Tobin asks on the other end

"I'm not really sure Tobs, have you heard from either Dan or Alex in the last couple of hours since the game," I say walking down the street

"no, nothing since we waved them goodbye in the locker room, can you not reach them?" She asks knowing it's weird for either one of them to not have their phones on

"I've tried them both and it just rings until it reaches the voicemail, I was meant to meet Dan almost an hour ago at our spot but she never showered" I explain looking around getting quite nervous about this all

"that's not like Dan at all, if she's ever late you always get a text" Tobin mumbles out

"what if somethings happened Tobin, what if they're in trouble that's why they're not answering their phone," I say getting a little panicked over it

"Kelley calm down for me okay, I'm sure it's nothing and they're both just busy and forgot about it all, why don't I call a few of the girls asking if they've heard anything from either of them," Tobin says coming up with a plan

"Okay that's great, I'm calling the boys and do the same thing," I say

After spending the next 20 minutes or so ringing as many if the boy's phone numbers I have saved I come out empty-handed still, nobody has heard from the pair and even Servando was expecting Alex to turn up but she didn't either

"We need to find them Tobs, let's go to their house and see if they're there with Pam and Em" I tell her over the phone

"okay Kel, I'll see you there" She replies before hanging up and I don't wait anytime in running to my girlfriends and best friends house

When I arrive I see some of the team's cars already in the driveway letting me know they're already here and most likely told Pam that we can't find her daughters

I open the door and walk in wanting to know what's happening now

"Please tell me somebody knows where they are?" I ask talking into the room full of people

"We're still looking Kelley, Pam's on the phone with the police to file a missing persons report" Tobin says taking a step towards me

"fuck," I say angrily putting my hand to my head

"we'll figure it out Kel, I'm sure its all just a big misunderstanding," She says trying to reassure me but I know something else has happened, this isn't like either one of them

There's soon a knock at the door and since I'm the closet I go to answer it not expecting it to be the Police

"did you call for a missing person?" The officer asks me

"Yes I did, 2 people, my daughters" I hear Pam say coming up behind me the fear clear in her voice

"Okay ma'am why don't we step inside and have a talk," The guy says with a smile on his face, one I did like the look of and I don't know why

"do you mind explaining what's going on?" The other person asks

"my daughters are missing! They're not answering their phones, they were meant to meet their partners and never showed up, they are always on time, this isn't like them!" Pam shouts starting to get a little hysterical about it

"Okay ma'am, take a deep breath for me okay, we're going to do everything we can to find your daughters, why don't we go down to the station so we can talk there with you and your other daughter," The officer says

"Okay, I can do that" Pam says taking a deep breath in

"we'll stay here in case they show," I tell Pam who nods her head slowly at me and walks out the door with Emelia and the two officers

"what are we meant to do now, I'm not just sitting here while my friends are missing," Charlie says standing up out his seat

"we're not doing that Charlie, we're going to look for them okay, spilt into groups and search this town until we find them," I say to everyone who's here.

They all look just as determined as I am, wanting to find our family soon and before it gets worse than it already is.

Everyone splits off into groups and Ash, Tobin, Serv, Hope and I all end up staying in the house, hoping we can find something that might tell us where they went

"let's go to their room first," Tobin says and we walk up the stairs to their shared bedroom.

You can tell it's their shared room, different achievements hanging around it like Dan's Leatherman Jacket and Alex's baseball cap she's had since she was 5. The whole room just make me think about them and I'm overcome with a wave of anger

"where are they!" I shout and start throwing things around the room, ripping off the bed covers looking for something

"Kelley! Stop!" Ash yells but I can't bring myself to.

I go to their bookshelf and throw the books of the shelves wanting to desperately know what has happened to the two most important people in my life.

"Kelley!" Hope yells and grabs me by the arms, stopping me from causing any more destruction.

"why them! This is so fucking unfair" I spit out in angry trying to get out of the keeper grip.

"you destroying the joint isn't going to help anyone Kelley," She says to me

Something about the bookshelf catches my eye, I knocked off all of the books yet there is still one standing up straight while every other one is either on the floor or its side

"Why is that book standing" I say out loud

"I don't know Kelley, you probably didn't knock it," Ash says to me

I don't believe it so I take a closer look and grab the book by its spine trying to pull it out if its place but it's not budging.

"it's stuck, it won't move," I say to everyone

"why would it be stuck Kelley, that's just stupid," Tobin says herself and walks over to try and pull it out but the same thing happens

"okay this is weird" she mumbles trying to remove it.

All of a sudden it moves out of place and we hear the lock of something clicks open. The bookshelf swings open slightly and reveals something else entirely

"what the hell is this" Serv says as he pulls the door fully open.

We walk in and to say nobody is ready to be met with what's in here is an understatement, almost every single wall in here is covered head to toe with different papers and photos all spread out

We walk in and to say nobody is ready to be met with what's in here is an understatement, almost every single wall in here is covered head to toe with different papers and photos all spread out 

"Darren Parkers Muder Board? Wait for Darren Parker as in Dan's dad?" Ash says having read what it says on the wall

"I think so" I reply shortly my brain still trying to comprehend what I'm seeing.

"what the hell is all this?" Hope asks.

I think we better read it and find out.

\- - - -

"Jesus Christ, this is some serious stuff. So Christopher Hinkle killed Dan's dad because he was too close in perfecting the remedy and figured out that he was selling the faulty and dangerous drugs to buyers?" Tobin says

"and he sent Brittney to gather what he knew before killing him across the border and paying off their police so no one could look into it and it would all be put down as an accident, but how is Mick involved?" Ash asks

"it says that Mick was one of Hinkle's sellers on the streets, basically the man that got his hands dirty for him. I mean, look here, it says Mick killed half a dozen people before even coming to this town. Apparently, Dan overhead a conversation saying that Mick thought it had all gone too far after watching a kid kill himself on the drug. Christopher didn't want Mick exposing him so framed all those murders on him and then shot the guy" Servando explains as everyone listens in shock

"Why haven't they gone to the police about it all, they have shed loads of evidence to send Jaelene's dad to prison for life," I say not understanding why they've held on to this for so long

"because they think the cops are dirty, Dan says she went to the crime scene and figured out Mick didn't shoot himself due to blood splatter being too spread out if Dan can figure out that cops should be able to as well" Hope adds in

"yeah, and look here, Dan and Alex were talking to one of her dad's old colleagues, Richard I think since he had connections with the FBI but he disappeared 3 weeks ago and haven't heard from him since," Tobin tells the group

"I can't believe that my girlfriend and best friend have secretly been investigating a murder for God knows how long!" Servando exclaims, probably feeling the same thing as me, how the hell did we not notice it with the countless times we've been over here.

"that makes two of us then" I mumble being both a little angry and upset that the two most important people to me didn't tell me any of this

"I'm sure they had their reasons, I mean this all looks pretty dangerous to me, I know if I was trying to find the person who killed my father, I wouldn't be involving the people I care about," Ash says sensing how our moods have changed

"What do we do know, we can't go to the cops because clearly they're dirty and I certainly don't have any connections with the FBI," Tobin says to the group

"I really don't know Tobs, but I think we should keep this a secret just between us 5, the more people to know, the more likely it's going to be out and into the wrong hands," I say having already made up my mind

"you want us to lie to their mother and sister about all of this" Serv says waving his hand around in the room full of evidence

"yes I do Serv because if we don't and all this evidence is lost, we've got no chance of getting them back," I say sternly, the only thing on my mind right now is getting my girlfriend and best friends back safely.

We exit the room and reorganize the books on the shelf before heading back downstairs to see how everyone else is doing.

After making multiple phone calls to everyone, turns out not a single person was able to find anything and they all came back, waiting to hear from the two Morgan relatives in the police station.

"erm guys, we might want to turn in the news," Ali says looking at her phone and then up at us.

I quickly grab the remote and turn on the right channel to see news reports of an overturned vehicle having crashed just outside of town, burnt to a crisp.

"that's Alex's car, that's her car!" Servando says pointing to the screen in despair.

"it says there's not passengers found at the scene of the crash" Tobin says listening to the news report.

I glance as the other 4 who found the room along with me and I can tell we're all thinking the same thing, how are we going to keep this hidden from everyone now?

Pam and Emelia return a couple of hours later having been questioned extensively for hours by the police yet not a single one of us have? Yeah, I'm really starting to believe that our police are corrupt

"anything?" I ask Pam, hoping for some miracle to happen

"Nothing, they said they're going to call if they hear anything," Pam says sitting down on the couch with her head in her hands while Serv hugs Em tightly

"it's going to be fine, they've probably just done something stupid and gotten themselves lost," I say and don't know if I'm trying to convince myself or Pam.

Little by little, people start to trickle out the house going back to their normal lives while a few of us stay hoping for a phone call to come through

"Your parents are probably worried about you all so go home and I'll call you if I hear anything," Pam says to Serv, Tobin, Allie and I

"I'd rather wait here in case we hear anything, Miss Morgan," Serv says but is cut him off when I see her phone ringing

"the phones ringing!" I shout leaping out of my seat as Pam grabs the phone and puts it to her ear

I grab onto the others tightly waiting to hear that they're okay and have been found safe and sound

"Hello! Please tell me my daughters are okay" Pam drastically asks down the phone

We all watch Pam's face for some indication as to what she's being told but her face doesn't change one bit and the phone slowly slips from her grasp to the floor.

"P-pam?" I ask nervously ask, scared for what reply I'm about to receive

"They found them, they found their bodies"


	42. We're here today to remember two sisters with bright futures ahead of them

Kelley POV

The weeks pass by and soon enough the whole world knows about the Morgan sisters. Two star athletes who were headed to do great things had tragically passed away in a hit and run

The police found their bodies in the crash site, burnt beyond recognition and the only way to identify their bodies was through dental records.

The school held a memorial where everyone mourned the death of their quarterback and soccer star. Everyone took it hard, even Jaelene.

At first, Ash, Tobin, Serv, Hope and I didn't believe any of it to be true. I mean we found the room on how Christopher Hinkle killed Dan's father and I just knew he was behind it all, he had to be.

But time passes and new things turn up, the culprit was apprehended and he confessed to committing the hit and run, killing my girlfriend and best friend. Soon enough I was the only one left be believing that they were still alive and out there.

The one's closets to them aren't the same anymore; Tobin has distanced herself from everyone and her relationship with Christen is hanging on by a thread, Ash hardly speaks a word, the youngsters who are usually the light of the team are just as cold and Serv barely even turns up at school anymore.

I walk into the student lounge again and just like every other day everyone is sitting in silence a few conversations going on in quiet whispers. I've had enough of it all

"You all need to stop moping around and help me look for our best friends, they're out there and need our help!" I say to everyone

"Kelley stop this!" Tobin shouts shocking most people since she's barely spoken in weeks

"You need to move on, they're dead Kelley, they found their bodies, the guy confessed. You need to stop living in this fantasy world where they're somehow alive, let people fucking grieve!" Tobin says and grabs her bags before storming off out the room.

Christen follows after her while I look around the room wondering if everyone else feels the same way. Clearly, they do because nobody replies and I decide I've had enough of this today and grab my bags too.

I walk out the school gates and get the next bus coming past and decide to go back to Dan's house. I know that it will be empty since Em is in school and Pam has buried herself with work at the hospital.

I get there and pick up the spare key underneath the plant pot before letting myself in and going to their room and into the secret one.

I look over everything trying to find something that could help me find them, somewhere in this town they could be. If anyone able to figure it out it should be me, I mean I'm the one person who knows this town like the back of my hand

I'm rooting through it all when my eyes and on a picture of Camden Forest, the place Dan and I had our first date.

\- - - -

I watch as Dan's eyes flicker around the scenery, trying to take everything in all at once. I forget people have never seen this side of town, it always surprises me when people are marvelled by the views

"what about his place?" Dan asks pointing to the old abandoned building that's centuries old.

"That building has been there practically since the beginning of this town has, it was first built back in 1745 by the British who discovered this land. That's why we have a lot of British tourists, anyways, it was used as a factory for making cotton since it needs a damp environment and you know what it's like here, the said is always moist. It got bombed in plenty of wars but was always rebuilt back up. I think it was just after the second world war where it was bombed for the fourth time that they rebuilt it but closed it down afterwards, keeping it as a memory for the town's history. Unfortunately, it was forgotten about and is now just a run-down factory that no one's allowed to even see" I explain maybe rambling in a bit too much

"you really know your stuff don't you freckles," She says chuckling at me and using the nickname that makes my stomach do flips

"I just find it all so fascinating how something so old could still be here today," I tell her happily

"come on, I think we've arrived at our destination," Dan says pulling me towards the rock edge as we look down at the perfect spot to see our entire town

"This is beautiful" I breath out, taking a seat so I can take everything in.

\- - - -

A tear slips down my cheek as I think back to that day, I knew then that Dan wasn't like the other girls and she really cared about me just like I did for her.

What I would give for a second more with her, to hold her in my arm and tell her how much she meant to me, that she was the only girl to ever make me feel loved.

It does get me thinking though if Christopher Hinkle was using that factory to operate his drug ring in then what's to say he doesn't have others around town he could be using.

I've been looking all over town in building but they've all been one that are in use, what if it's been abandoned like the factory was

Knowing I'm not going to find anything here I rush out the house again and head towards the public library. It's too far out though and there are not many buses going this way.

I look around thinking about what I could do when my eyes land on the garage and I get a really stupid idea. I open it up and see Dan's newly fixed bike sitting there.

"fuck it," I say and climb on top, revving the engine before speeding off to the library

I get plenty of weird looks when I pull up, most people knowing Dan as the only one who drives a bike in this town. I go to the front desk and ask the lady where the tows history books are

"they're in the far left corner love," Sher says smiling at me and pointing in the direction

"thank you," I say and speed walk that way.

I grab every book I can find on the town's history and start looking through it all, there has to be something in here that can tell me where they are.

I don't know how long I'm in the library for but I take a look outside and see it's now dark, books open everyone on my table and not a single clue to where they could be. I lean back in my seat defeated and let out a sigh.

Maybe Tobin's right, maybe they are really gone.

\- - - -

"we're here today to remember two sisters with bright futures ahead of them" The funeral celebrant says as I sit next to Em, my hand holding tightly on to hers

It's the day of their funeral and many new and old friends have all turned up to offer their condolences and to mourn the loss of their friends and family.

I listen to him give his speech on them both and my face stays the same blank expressions it has been all day. Why is this guy talking about my girlfriend and best friend like he knew them?

I tune out of what he's saying until I see Pam stand up from her seat, tissues in hand, and walk up to the stand to talk.

"I never imagined I would have to stand here and speak at my daughters funeral, no parent wishes that and yet here I am. I imagined walking them down the aisle as they married there partners, speaking at their wedding and then their baby shower. I won't get a chance to do that now." Pam says and I lower my head down trying to hold in the tears

"Dan came into out lives little under a year ago, it would have been her 18th birthday next week actually, and as soon as she entered I knew it was the best thing to happen to this town. She made every person a better version of themselves and always put others before herself. She and Alex had developed a bond like no other, they were attached at the hip from day one, if you wanted to find one you just had to look for the other" Pam says letting out a small chuckle along with the rest of the crowd

"Dan brought out the happy bubbly side of Alex I can't see for a long time, something she's kept hidden from overtime yet Dan was able to bring that back out. They both were planning on heading to college next year, Dan was going to Stanford to follow in her mother's footsteps and Alex was going to her dream school of Berkley. I was so excited to see my two daughters play the sport they love, even if it wasn't for the same school" She says grabbing a tissue to wipe her eyes

"I miss them both more and more every day, but I know they have each other up there, probably annoying the hell out of the other. So to Dan and Alex, my amazing daughters, you left this earth too soon but I know you're at peace up there and that's all I need" Pam says before taking a seat back down and hugging her only daughter tightly into her arms.

A few more people go up to speak, I was asked but I don't know what to say. How do you talk about the two people in your life that we're always there by your side whenever something bad happened.

After it's all over some people come up to shake our hands and offer their condolences, I put on a fake smile hating the sympathy and forced looks everyone is giving us.

Christopher Hinkle walks up towards us and it takes everything in me to not lash out in him here, punch his face in until he's bleeding on the floor

"I'm so sorry for your loss Pamela, you're daughters where magnificent people and my thoughts and prayers are with you," He says to Pam, holding her hand like he's actually sympathetic towards her

He goes over to Emelia next and then on to me, I don't think he knows that I found everything the pair had on him since his face hasn't changed

"I know these two were you best friends, I'm sorry for your loss Kelley," He says as I grit my teeth

He killed my girlfriends dad and I won't ever forget that

I'm scared to open my mouth, not knowing if my brain will just spiral and I'll start saying some stupid things that would get me caught out. I just keep the emotionless face I've had on all day.

By the time most people have left we decide to head back home ourselves. There's still one person left near the back and I get a closer look to see its Michael, Alex's father, looking on at his daughter's casket.

"I don't want to see him but he's allowed to grieve his daughter's death in peace," Pam says grabbing my hand and leaving him there while we go back home after the emotional day

Watching their caskets her lowered into the ground hit me harder than expected, I know their bodies weren't in there since they were both too burnt but the symbol of it gave a pang to my chest.

Alex was family and Dan had slowly become that for me too, I'm trying to be strong for them but it's hard when they're usually your support system.

Tobin was right to say I was living in a fantasy world last week. I need to come to terms with the fact that gone.

Maybe this is the end of it all.


	43. We've done some crazy things together haven't we

Dan's POV

"I don't fucking know anything" I yell out for the hundredth time

"You have your dads file and I'll make sure to get it out if you" the same guy who's been torturing me for God knows how long I've been here says

"How many times do I need to tell you and get it through your thick skull I don't know shit" I spit out

"That's the same thing your stepdaddy said to me before I put a bullet through his skull, but he wasn't lying was he," The guy tells me crouching down in front of me with smug luck on his face

This is the son of a bitch that killed Mick, I swear to god when I get out of these cuffs I will beat his ass to a pulp

"And do you want to know what he said when I mentioned hurting your pretty little face. He said that if I touched you I'd be a dead man, I guess he did care about you after all" The guy says and I've had enough so I bring my foot up to boot him in the face.

"You're a monster and you'll burn in hell" I seethe out to him as he just stands there laughing, blood dripping down his lip.

"You're alone kid, you've got nobody now, they're all dead" He says stepping closer and grabbing my face in his hands.

He punches me in the face again and I lean to the side to spit out the blood before being untied from my seat and dragged back to my room if you want to call it that.

I'm thrown in roughly and left trying to catch my breath after it's been knocked out of me. The place is miserable and I sit they're for a few seconds in my own head

"Dan, are you okay!" Alex says instantly coming to my side asking if I'm okay and nothings too badly hurt

"Lex I'm good okay, it's just the same as every other day," I tell her closing my eyes

"Are they still looking for that drive?" she asks lifting up my shirt to check for anything broken

"yep, they seem to think I know about it but I literally have no clue, I mean I didn't even know what my dad's job was until like 2 months ago," I tell her hissing slightly when she pressed down too hard

"They really want to destroy the formulae don't they," She says as she helps me up to what we've been given as a bed.

"He obviously wants to destroy it before the rest of the world can get their hands on it" I reply

"yeah and he's going to extreme length to do it too, I mean he killed Richard Dan, that guy was nothing but nice," Alex says and I let out a sigh

"I know Lex, it's not fair," I say and pull her into a hug

"I did find something else out though, and I don't know how to feel about it all," I tell Alex after a few seconds of silence

"What's that?" She asks

"It turns out the guy who's been beating me up for however long is the guy who killed Mick, he said that he threatened to hurt me but Mick said he'd kill him if he did. Why was he trying to protect me that man made it his mission to beat the living crap out of me?" I say to her trying to figure out why he'd say that

"Maybe he did care about you, and all those beatings were to help protect you in some kind of fucked up way." Alex suggested and I just shrug my shoulders

"Maybe, I've always seen him as the enemy you know but at the end of the day he was being used just as much as the next person" I say and lean my head back

We sit there in silence for a bit, both of us finding comfort in the arms of the other person wondering what our future holds.

"do you think anyone's looking for us back home," Alex asks and I just shake my head sadly at her

"after they took our teeth when we first arrived I knew they were faking our deaths. If a body is too destroyed or mangled beyond recognition they use dental records to identify the body so whoever's body was found everyone will presume it's ours" I say knowing all of this from taking my Criminology course

"they show me pictures you know," Alex says barely above a whisper

"pictures of what?" I ask confused as to where she's going with this

"pictures of what's going on in town, the school having a memorial for us, our friends all grieving for us in the assembly," She tells me

"did you see Kelley?" I ask quickly

"No I didn't, I couldn't see any of our group there, not even Serv" Alex mumbles sadly

"I hope mom and Em are doing okay, we all know how mom likes to blame herself if things go wrong," I say thinking about my family

"do you regret not telling anyone about it all, the whole murder investigation and everything that's gone on in your past, maybe we wouldn't be here now," Alex asks me

"not one bit, look what happened when we told Richard, he ended up dead and I wouldn't want that on anyone else," I say having thought about this a lot while we've been here

"we've done some crazy things together haven't we," Alex says letting out a chuckle

"that we have, do you remember when I called out Jaelene on my first day here and you guys all looked like I murdered someone," I say making us both laugh

"God yeah, we were all just so shocked you stood up to her, thinking about it now we should've done it a long time ago," She says to me

"and don't forget about the time we went house shopping and we messed around the whole time, running around each house probably annoying the hell out of mom," I say causing us to laugh again

"That was such a good day," Alex says letting out a sigh

"and remember all our self-defence lessons in the garden, you kicked my butt by the end of it all," I say

"Yeah, it's a shame we can't use it here" She replies letting out a sigh

"I know," I say too, instinctively looking down at my leg where my cut is still healing.

"how's that doing by the way?" She asks rolling up my shorts to get a better look

"fine, the did a good job at stitching it up actually, even if it has been ripped open a couple of times," I say my fingers running over the stitching

"do you think it's going to cause some serious damage after its healed," Alex asks mentioning what's been on my mind for a while

"I don't really know, but the longer we're here and it's not being treated properly the worse it's going to be in the long run," I say thinking about my soccer and football future.

"We don't even know how long we've been here, near a month or so?" Alex says

"Yeah, if that's the case then it's my birthday coming up soon, happy 18th to me" I answer chuckling slightly

Alex doesn't reply but just hugs me a little tighter, both of us doing our best to comfort the other.

I go to fall asleep and my mind starts dreaming about the moments I had with my friends and family over the last year or so.

\- - - - - - -

"I can't believe that this is actually your new home, it's insane!" I say as the pair of us flop down on the plastic-covered mattress

"How many times do I need to tell you it's you're home as well Dan," Alex says turning to face me

"It's not though Alex, I have a home with Mick and Brittney, this is the place that you've bought with your families money, it had nothing to with me," I tell her

"that's a house Dan, not a home. A home is where you feel safe and loved, its where you can be vulnerable and let your walls down not a place you're scared to go in in case you don't come back out again. This is your home Dan because we're here" Alex says looking at me sternly as the tears brim in my eyes.

"I do love you guys and you are like family to me it's just hard to let people in you know" I say as I wipe away my tears

"I know Dan, but you don't have to anymore you've got people around you that care and want to be a part is your life. Take Kelley for example, for as long as I've known her she's been a closed-off person until you came along and opened her back up" Alex tells me

"I really do love that girl Alex, she's the best thing that's happened to me since I can remember," I say smiling as I think about my girlfriend

"and you're the best thing to happen to her and me too," Alex says hugging me on the bed

\- - - - - - -

"so tell me everything! How did the first date go!" I ask Alex excitedly as she comes over to me smiling her head off

"oh my God Dan, it was everything I've dreamed of since freshman year. He took me to the ice cream parlour and paid for mine and then took us to the park where we just sat on the swings and laughed with each other the whole time" Alex rambles on, the grin never leaving her lips

"I'm sorry but you guys have me to thank for setting you up, I am officially cupid and you can't say anything otherwise," I say with a grin on my face causing her to start laughing

"we've been in one date Dan and I'm already falling for him, is that a bad thing?" She asks me sheepishly

"god no Alex! You can't control how quickly you fall in love, it just, happens" I say and smile at her happy that's she's finally found Serv

"I guess so, he's just such a good guy Dan" She tells me this huge smile on her face, something I've never seen before.

"have you got a second date planned yet?" I ask

"He said he'll text me about it and I'm already excited for whatever it could be" She says to me

"Knowing him he'll have something crazy planned for the pair of you," I tell her happily

"What about you and Kelley, how are you guys doing?" Alex asks catching me off guard

"I think we're doing okay yeah" I say not really knowing how to answer the question

"how long has it been now? 5 months you've been going strong for?" Alex asks

"Yep, I mean I never really thought I'd be one to have a long term relationship," I tell her honestly

"Really? You've got like the most loving heart of anyone I've ever met" She says looking at me surprised

"Yeah well not many people got to see that, it's only been since moving over here that I really feel like I fit in, that I was meant to be here you know?" I reply not wanting to sound crazy

"I get what you mean Dan, my life before you felt good, I was happy and everything felt like it was where it was meant to be but then you turned up and now I couldn't imagine having ever lived without you, it's a weird thing to think about really," She says letting out a deep sigh

"Well I'm for one extremely grateful to have people in my corner like Pam and you and Kelley, even Emelia when she's not annoying us," I say getting a laugh out the older Morgan sibling

"Too bad you're a stick with us all forever then," She tells me with a huge grin on her face.

\- - - - - - -

"SNAP!" I yell for the fourth time in a row slamming my card down hard on the table

"How are you doing this every time, I swear you must be cheating!" Kelley says in protest crossing her arms over her chest to give me her best glare

"Freckles I'm pretty sure it's impossible to cheat in a game of snap, I'm just that good" I tell her proud of myself for beating her yet again

"Nope, don't believe it, you've got the game rigged and that's that" She replies not budging from her decision over the matter.

"Don't be mad at me baby, I can't help being talented at everything" I say getting out of my seat to slowly walk over to her side with a smug look on my face

"What are you doing? Dan, I swear to God" Kelley warns me knowing this look all too well.

I pull her up and quickly throw her one my shoulder getting a small scream from her lips. I start walking over towards the pool which makes her start fidgeting in my grip

"Dan don't you dare throw me in that pool!" Kelley screams out as I eventually dangle her over the edge

"If you drop me in here I will-" She starts to say bit is cut off my water going over her head.

I just laugh as her soaked figure returns back-up to the surface, her hair stuck to her face and in her mouth.

"Donatella Parker, you better help me out this pool or I will dump your ass," She tells me and I quickly lean down to offer out me hands for her to grab a hold off

She smirks at me quickly and I realise my mistake too late because next thing I know I'm being pulled in headfirst. I come back up from the water to see a laughing Kelley.

"Haha, I think we're even now," I say with a smile and swim-up towards her

"I'm not too sure about that, I feel like you still have some making up to do," Kelley says and slowly glides her hands over my shoulder, her fingers making their way to the back of my neck.

"and how would you like that baby, I can do anything you want" I whisper into her ear, my mouth finding itself trailing kisses down her neck as her legs wrap themselves around my waist.

"I think we should get out of these wet clothes, don't want to catch a cold now do we" I whisper, planting small kiss behind her ear, finding the sweet spot I know always makes her moan.

I lift the pair of us out the pool, the water dripping off our clothes as I keep our lips attached, both of is fighting for dominance over the other but all it takes is for one of my hands to travel up the back of her damp shirt and get her to release a small moan to allow me full control.

I put her to the floor and feel her hands tugging at the bottom of my shirt. My arms go up and she makes quick work of throwing the wet top to the floor leaving me in just a pair of shorts and a bra.

I take no time myself in stripping down Kelley too, her top and bottoms sliding off in quick succession before I hoist her back up onto my body again.

"I'm glad we've got the house to ourselves 'cause I don't want everyone hearing what I'm about to do to you," I say leaving hickies going down her neck and breast

My confessions seem to get a reaction out of Kelley because she grabs my hair roughly and pulls her lips close to my ear

"You better get on with it then babe"

And that's all it takes for me to practically run-up to my room and throw her onto the bed, ready to make the most of our time alone.

\- - - - - - -

"Again Tobin!" I shout for the hundredth time having lost count of how many times we've gone through this drill

Tobin has a great catch, almost all of the time she's gotten every ball I've thrown to her but our problem now is getting past people once she's got that ball in her hands

"It's no use Dan, I'm not going to get it and that's that" She says sitting down in the floor in defeat

I let out a sigh and tell one of the Freshman here practicing with us that he can leave before I walk over to her, sitting myself down beside her and staring into space in silence.

"I appreciate you trying to teach me Dan, I really do, but I'm no wide receiver okay, I'm not big enough or tall enough to get around the guys" She says after a while

She's right and I know it, I've been trying to teach her the drills that the guys who are 6 foot are doing, unfortunately for me Tobs is only 5'5 but it does give me an idea.

"Get up" I say to her standing up myself and offering out my hands

"What are we doing now Dan, it's seriously no use" She groans out but stands up anyways

"You see this ball here, it's a soccer ball okay" I say holding up the oval shaped ball

"Okay?" Tobin replies confused as to why I'm calling a football a soccer ball

"I want you to get around me with this ball the same way you would in a soccer game" I tell her and throw the ball to her hands

"But that's using my feet, my feet are better on the ball than my hands" She states

"Exactly, use that to your advantage, you're feet can do some crazy stuff that I haven't seen any football or soccer player ever do before, that's your advantage" I tell her and claps my hands together letting her know I'm ready.

"Right, uses these feet" She mumble to herself, ball tucked away in her arm.

She sets of towards me in a sprint and I watch her closely trying to anticipate where she's heading. All of a sudden she takes a step forward with her left foot and I quickly angle my body that way in how to block her.

However she's quick herself to change directions again and I find myself going from left to right and all the way onto my ass.

"Okay that was just embarrassing" I say as Tobin runs past me with the ball in the air

"I didn't think that would actually work" Tobin tells me jogging back in shock

"I told you to use them feet, imagine there's a ball there and do all those insane skills you do on the pitch with us, next thing you'll know, everyone will be left in the dust behind you" I say putting a hand on her shoulder

"Thanks for helping me with this Dan, I do really appreciate it" She tells me

"You're the one helping me out Dan, we need a wide receiver after Lawson left otherwise we'd be pretty screwed" I reply letting out a chuckle

"Let's hope we can win some games then" She tells me, passing me the ball and jogging off further down the field

\- - - - - - -

"I really feel like this is a bad idea guys, we could get expelled if this goes wrong!" Christen says in panic to us

"It will work Chris, if it gets out the headteacher is having an affair with a 20 year old teacher his career will be over" I say trying to reassure her

"I'm with Christen on this one, it could backfire on us badly" My girlfriend says joining in on the worrying fest that seems to be happening

"Do you two want to watch your girlfriends play in New York in front of a crowd with over 60,000 people or be stuck in school learning stuff you already know?" Charlie says for me

"If my perfect record gets tarnished because of you three you'll never hear the end of it" Kelley warns us but I know that's basically her way of giving in

"I can't wait to see his face when he looks at those pictures" Tobin says grabbing Charlie's phone and scrolling through the incriminating evidence again

"Bro he is going to shit his pants for sure" I say laughing along with her.

We make it to his office and see the new receptionist look up at us. This is the one Ali has a deep routed hatred for ever since Ash flirted with her to get Jaelenes locker combo and Ali found out.

"Is there a problem here?" she asks looking at the small group of us

"Not really but we need to speak with headmaster Davis, it's urgent" I say with my best friendly smile.

I turn to grin at the four people behind me, two with smirks on their faces while the other two look like they're about to get arrested

"He said you can come in" She tells us and opens his office door for us to step inside

"What can I do for you guys" Mr Davis says with a smile on his face that will some be removed for sure

"Oh we just wanted to tell you that you'll be letting Kelley and Christen miss the rest of term so they can go to New York with us" I tell the headmaster

"I'm sorry, who do you think you are" He chuckles out standing up from his desk to stand on the other side and glare at me

"Somebody you're going to want to listen to if you ever want a career in teaching again" I tell him with the same face he has

"You see, my good friend Charlie here is a little too vain for his own good but that comes in handy sometimes as he managed to catch you and Miss Jenkins coming out the supply closet together looking a little, messy" I say just as Charlie turns his phone around the show him the photo of the messy hair and outfits.

"That doesn't show anything, your blackmails would be useless against the school board" He scoffs out and standing up straight

"Oh my bad, I showed you the wrong photo" Charlie says sarcastically and slides to the next imagine of the pair locking lips

"So Mr Davis, unless you want your marriage and career to go down the drain I suggest you give these fine students here the time off they deserve" I tell the guy, not letting the grin drop from my affection

"Fine, I'll make something up for you two to go, just don't tell anyone about those photos I'm begging you" He pleads to us

"If you keep your end of the bargain sir we'll keep ours too" I say before standing up and walking out with the rest of them.

We wait until we're down the corridor and around the corner to burst out laughing at what we've just managed to do

"Oh my god, I don't think I've ever seen Mr Davis so scared in my life, that guy looked ready to die right there and then" Tobin says high fiving Charlie

"Told you both it would work, and now you get to come and support us at Worlds" I say to the two reluctant girls

"That was still the most nerve wracking thing I've ever done but I am glad I get to cheer you on babe" Kelley says wrapping an arm around my neck and kissing me on the lips

"That makes two of us"


	44. Remember Dan, I love you to pieces, catch this son of a bitch for your old man

Kelley's POV

Dan would've turned 18 today and she had this whole plan to throw a super big party at her house with most the school being invited, she was even willing to let Jaelene come if she didn't start anything.

Instead, the place is as quiet as anything, only Pam and I sitting in the garden with a drink in our hands, both of us thinking about her on this day.

"How are all the girls doing?" Pam asks me

"they're getting there, nobody's back to normal yet and certainly not ready to be playing any soccer matches," I tell her just thinking about how much we're even struggling in training

"what about you Kelley, how are you doing?" Pam says to me.

It's the same question I get every day, the same one I've had for a month now and it doesn't get any easier to hear because every time I do I just think about them both and I feel like crawling into a ball and crying until I fall asleep.

"I'm good Pam, just worried about the others" I reply brushing of the question

"Kelley," Pam says, her voice full of disappointment

"what are you going to do when everyone else has finished grieving and getting back on with their daily lives? They can go about their day without thinking about Dan and Alex every waking minute and you're not going to have people to hide behind anymore" Pam says to, her words hitting hard because I know she's right

"let's not talk about this now, today's hard enough as it is," she says slipping her hand into mine

"I got a call from my lawyer today" Pam starts to tell me

"about what?" I ask wondering why she's telling me about this.

"When I adopted Dan everything that was left in her name came to me until she turned 18 and could access it herself" She explains

"Are you able to see what her parents left here?" I ask knowing about the fund her dad left and security box in the bank

"I am since she's not here to collect it herself but I can't bring myself to look through it all" Pam says and standing up to go inside before coming back out with a box

"This is everything they left her in the safe and also her college fund which I will give to charity, I know it's what she would want," Pam tells me

"Have you gone through any of this yet," I ask since the box is still taped up

"I can't bring myself to do it and I would really like for you to do it instead, you can keep anything in there you want too," She says to me

"I can't do that Pam, it's your stuff," I say shaking my head at her

"It's not mine Kelley, it's Dan's and she would want you to have it I know that" Pam says putting a hand on my arm

"Okay, thank you Pam," I say gratefully

The pair of us spend the next couple of hours just talking about my plans after high school, it's a little hard to talk about since all my plans involved Dan being by my side and know I have to do it alone.

I leave her home and head back to mine, getting sympathetic looks from everyone in the house since the whole town knows what day it is today. I set the box down on my bed and just stare at it for a while

In here are all the belongings that Dan's parent left her when they died and I almost feel like it's not my place to open it. I stare at it for a bit contemplating whether it's the right choice or not.

After much debating with myself, I quickly grab a pair of scissors and slice the tape holding it together.

The box is full of photos and old album books, past cinema tickets and toys that are probably significant to Dan. I pick up a photo frame from inside and see her parents holding Dan when she'd just been born. At least I know she's been reunited with them up there.

I take things out one by one trying to guess the stories behind the items being kept for her. My hand lands on a necklace next and I pull it out to see a beautiful silver chain with a long bar hanging down it

My hand lands on a necklace next and I pull it out to see a beautiful silver chain with a long bar hanging down it   
"Wow," I whisper out loud to myself having never seen something like this before.

The silver bar has engraving down the side, D.Parker. I know it's probably meant for Darren but I just think of Dan. I unclip the hook and fit it onto my neck, letting it rest on my chest and hold it securely there.

As I'm feeling it with my fingers I can hear a slight rattle going on inside. Why is the thing rattling, there's not something inside it is there?

I lift it up to see the bottom and spot a small slit running along the seem, it seems to be separate to the design and I'm able to click it open letting something fall out into my palm

"what the hell," I say to myself as I look at what seems to be a pen drive

Curious as to what it could be I place all the stuff to one side and go over to my laptop and plug it in. I open up the drive and the first thing that pops onto my screen is a video with the freeze-frame of Darren.

I press play on the video wandering what it could be about.

"Hey munchkin, if you're watching this then unfortunately something bad has happened to me before your 18th birthday. It's currently the 21st of September 2002, 8:52 in the evening and I'm at my work, where I always seem to be these days" Darren says nervously glancing around the dark laboratory he's sitting in

"I want to start off by saying I'm sorry, ever since your mom passed away I've been a really shitty father, I got so into my work to try and forget I ended up neglecting the one thing that mattered the most to me, and that's you Dan," Darren tells the camera, smiling as he thinks about his only daughter

"you should be getting this on your 18th birthday, so happy birthday munchkin and I hope you're having a good day wherever you are. You've reached an age now where you're mature enough to understand, things that an angry 15-year-old Dan wasn't ready to hear about yet" Darren says letting out a small chuckle

"As you know I'm a scientist for a very high ranking company called AIM, the American Institute for Medicine. My team and I are working on this revolutionary new drug that can cure people of pain in a few seconds. If I can make this work, every human would no longer have to suffer, they could take this drug and it would create antibodies that the body would remember for the rest of its life. You wouldn't have to feel the same pain twice." Darren explains, pure joy on his face as he lets his future daughter know what his life work has been

"I know that I've thrown my heart and soul into this research and it's all because of your mother, watching her suffer through the pain of chemo treatments and operations broke my heart because there was nothing I could do except watch. But that can all change with this drug" Darren says with sadness in his eyes

"The reason I'm making this message is to tell you I think I'm being watched or something like that. The company who funds all our research is called Christopher Hinkle Co. he's a multi-millionaire businessman that funds research labs across America. Since I've been working longer hours and spending more days in the lab, I've noticed a lot of strange things." Darren tells the camera, nervously looking around again as if he's expecting someone to be there

"All of our failed drug formulations are being sent off for mass production somewhere, some of these failed experiments have made some dangerous drugs that can cause paralysis, schizophrenia, hallucinations and even death. If these are given to people it could drive them to the point of suicide." Darren explains

"I've been collecting evidence for almost a year now and I know Brittney is working for them but I have to play along if I want to bring him down." Darren says into the camera his face full of determination

"If you're watching this then clearly I've failed at doing so and I'm sorry for leaving you without any parents but I can't let this man kill any more innocent people. Once this video has finished, you'll find files on everything I've collected and a number for a contact I have in the FBI." Darren says

"Remember Dan, I love you to pieces, catch this son of a bitch for your old man" Darren says before ending the recording, hoping he never has to show his daughter it

The video finishes and I'm left sitting there in shock trying to wrap my head around everything I've just heard Dan's father say.

I close down the video and just as he said there hundreds of files here all named and listed full of data logged evidence of what Christopher Hinkle was up to.

There's plenty of evidence here, plus all of Dan and Alex work, that can send him away. I just need to find the number of the FBI man. After searching through the files I manage to locate it so I quickly scribble it down and email myself the video before closing the files down and putting the drive back in the necklace.

I get my phone out and text Hope, Serv, Ash and Tobin that's it's an SOS and we need to meet by the tree outside of school.

I don't waste any time in getting there myself and sprint out if of home and running there. My body doesn't care about how far I'm going right now I'm just too focused on what I've found out

I wait for them under the tree and soon enough they arrive not looking very happy with me

"This better not be one of your witch hints Kelley, we're all trying to move on and today's hard enough," Serv says to me

"Just shut up for a second and watch this video" I say and get out my phone to play it all for them

They all seem just as shocked as I was when the video has ended, all staring at me for some kind of the explanation

"so he knew he was being watched and that Hinkle was after him?" Ash says being the first one to speak

"Exactly and he was getting close too but not before he could make this video and store all his research away," I tell them

"How did you even get this video in the first place?" Serv asks next

"Pam picked up all the belongings that Dan's parents left her for when she turned 18 and in there was this necklace that had a pen drive inside with it all on" I explain my fingers going up to the necklace resting on my chest

"do you have the number for the FBI?" Hope asks me

"I do, it's here, we should call it and give them all of this," I say getting my phone out to call the number

"It's not going to bring them back Kelley, they're still dead no matter what we do," Tobin says sadly

"We at least owe it to them to finish what they started and get justice for what Christopher Hinkle did do Dan's father," I tell Tobin

"Okay fine, let's put this bastard behind bars once and for all then" Tobin replies looking around the group who all nod their heads agreeing that this is the right thing to do.


	45. We're not letting him run and get out of town before he's caught

Kelley's POV

"somebody else call, I don't want to do it," Ash says passing off the phone to Tobin

"I'm not doing it! This is the FBI we're talking about calling not the fucking dentist" She says refusing to take the device too

"just pass it here Ash, I'll do it," I say and grab it from her hands before dialling the number on the piece of paper

I put the phone on speaker and we all lean in a little closer as the phone rings out, all of us wondering if someone is actually going to answer it or not.

"hello how can I help you?" A female voice asks on the other end

"erm hello, I'm looking to speak with a Trevor Fick, is he there?" I ask hopefully

"I'm sorry ma'am this is a pizza delivery service you're calling," She says on the other end causing us all to look at each other a little panicked, this is the right number isn't it?

"I was given this number and told to speak with him, it's really important I do" I reply to her

"Again I'm sorry ma'am but there's so Trevor Fick who works at the pizza shop," The woman says and I look at the others with wide eyes not knowing what to do next.

"put her on hold!" Serv whisper shorts at me

"what? Why?" I whisper back covering the microphone up

"Just do it!" He replies

"Sorry ma'am can I just put you on hold for one second," I say into the phone and quickly mute the call

"what the hell Serv! Why am I putting her on hold?" I ask a little annoyed knowing how big this is

"Look at the bottom of the page here, there's a code, you must have to say it to get in or something," He says pointing to the words written on the bottom

"Mushroom and sweetcorn pizza, no cheese?" I read out confused as hell

"yes that's it! Read it out loud to the woman on the phone!" Hope says.

I unmute the call again and awkwardly clear my through before reciting what I'm being told today

"mushroom and sweetcorn pizza, no cheese," I say and everyone leans forward in anticipation

"you're order has been taken" She says before the line goes dead and the call is ended

"what the hell! The wasn't supposed to happen" Ash says tapping the screen like it's going to do anything

"fuck! Why didn't that work" I say angrily

"its ringing!" Serv points out and we all start panicking all over again.

"Hello!" I say into the phone

"This is Trevor Fick who am I speaking with?" A guy says on the other end

"oh thank God it's you!" I say happily as we all let out a sigh of relief

"my names Kelley O'Hara and I knew Darren Parker," I say

"Darren? How do you know him he died over 4 years ago" The guy says

"Technically I don't know him I know his daughter Dan, she's was my girlfriend but she passed away over a month ago," I tell him

"I heard, I'm very sorry for your loss but what are you doing ringing the number I left Darren in secret?" He asks me sounding worried

"It turned out he left Dan a box with a bunch of valuables in for she turned 18 which is today. I was going through it all and came across a pen drive that has hundreds of evidence pinning Christopher Hinkle, the billionaire, to multiple murders and criminal activities" I explain

"really! We've been trying to catch him for years now and Darren was the closets we got but he was killed and nobody could find all his data" Trevor says back

"well Dan was also trying to figure out who killed her father and she found out the reason why he was killed. All the evidence is in her house" I tell him finding this call to be turning out hopeful

"okay we need to get it into safe hands as quickly as possible, send me the address of somewhere private and excluded to meet you tomorrow," Trevor says

"Okay, we'll have everything ready for you then," I say confidently

"thank you Kelley, I'll make sure I catch him this time, for your girlfriend," Trevor says before hanging up

I just look at everyone here, all of us trying to wrap our heads around the fact that this is actually happening and not just our imagination

"We can't tell anyone again, we're not letting him run and get out of town before he's caught," I say as everyone nods their heads

\- - - -

It's graduation day for our seniors Ash, Ali, Carli, Hope and Becky, we're all currently sitting in our seats ready to cheer on our teammates and best friends as they finish ready to head off to college soon.

While everyone else is enjoying the moment I'm checking my phone every 20 seconds waiting for a text from Trevor letting me know when it's all going down.

After giving him all the evidence from both Darren and Alex and Dan's investigations, he has more than enough evidence to arrest Christopher Hinkle on multiple charges.

They're raiding his main base of operations today and then heading here to arrest him in front of the whole school board and parents who have come to support their kids

My phone pings in my hand and I pick it up quickly and read over the message I've been sent

"The raid is happening now, see you soon"

I can't keep the smile off my face as I read it, he's finally being brought to justice and I get to watch the whole thing go down right in front of me.

"guys" I whisper to Tobin and Serv who are standing next to me

"its happening now" I tell them

"for real?" Serv ask in shock

"Trevor just text me that they're doing it now and he'll be here me soon" I say as the other two high five each other.

I go over to the two seniors and tell them the news too, all of us happy that this is finally happening.

"team huddle!" Carli shouts to us, we're a bit confused as to why we're doing this but nobody questions it

"I know we're all thinking about them today and how we would want them here with us, so Becky and I decided to leave two seats free next to where the team are sitting to remember them" Carli tells us, she looks in my direction and I smile thankfully at her.

"We all know Dan would have just shouted something loudly as we went onto the stage" Ash says making us all laugh at the truth of it

I take my seat in the soccer teams row and end up sitting down next to Tobin and my left while my right is empty, the place Dan would have sat. Her arm would've been wrapped around my shoulder and I would have rested my hand in her thigh as we both clapped loudly for our friends graduating.

Christopher Hinkle steps up onto the stage getting a warm reception from everyone here except a few of us and takes his place behind the microphone ready to give us some bullshit speech no doubt.

"Welcome ladies and gentleman to the graduation of class of 07!" He starts off by saying, I just roll my eyes at the man not understanding how he can just be there knowing how may people he killed

"This year's class have been nothing but exceptional in both academics and sport. We've remained the top spot in the state for our average GPA and also won a national championship with the girl's soccer team and a Worlds title, something you don't get to say very often" He says

"and part of these great achievements were two students who the whole school loved dearly, Alex and Dan Morgan. We lost them a little over a month ago and it was a huge set back for our kids here. There was no doubt that the pair of them would have gone on to do great things and one day represent our country in an Olympics or World Cup probably" He told the crowd speaking as if he even cared about them both, he doesn't even care about his fucking daughter

"I speak for everyone here when I say we wish the sisters could be with us today to witness their fellow teammates and friends walk this stage but sometimes life doesn't work that way," He says

I can't stand to look at the guy any longer knowing what's he's done to this town, everyone is sitting here so unaware that most of the problems and disasters that happen here are because of him. For goodness sake, the guys been running a drug ring right in the middle of town!

"But today's a day of celebrations and that's what we're going to do. Up first is-" Hinkle starts to say but is cut off by a loud shout

"Christopher Hinkle! Put your hands in the air where I can see them" Is yelled behind us.

Everyone gasps as we see the FBI turn up, their guns pointed directly at the man behind the stand who's frozen still.

"what the hell is this all about!" Hinkle says as they get closer to him

"you're under arrest for the murder of Darren Parker, conspiracy of murder, kidnapping and possession of drugs. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be held against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney if you can not afford an attorney, one will be provided for you" I see Trevor speak as three offices go up to the stage and put him in handcuffs

"This is ridiculous! Do you know who you're talking to right now!" Christopher says trying to fidget out if his restraints

"Don't bother Christopher, we caught you red have and you know what the funniest part about it all, they did it all for me" Trevor says and takes a step to the side revealing two people nobody expected to see

"Bet you didn't see that one coming did you"


	46. Get me to that school now, I need to see that asshole in cuffs

Dan's POV

"I'll get it out of you eventually Dan, soon enough you'll be wishing I just end it all," Hinkle says as he takes off the brass knuckles he's been beating me with and cleaning off the blood with a cloth

"I'm no cactus expert but your whole family are pricks" I reply spitting the blood out to one side

"your father tried to do the same thing, act like he knew nothing and that caused him to get shot, remember that?" Hinkle says gripping into my arms tightly as we stare each other down.

"I killed your father Dan, he didn't drown in his honeymoon but I guess you already knew that didn't you," He says

He's just confessed to killing my dad, he's the reason I've lived the past 4 years of my life in complete misery, he's the reason I got constant beatings and punishments from Mick. He's the reason I don't have a father to go home to every night.

"so you were the one to actually do it then, I thought you'd be too much of a pussy to actually be the one to pull the trigger," I say trying to keep my cool because I know he wants me to lash out

"For all the trouble that man caused me I wasn't going to let some random guy do it, no I wanted to see his face as I put the barrel to his forehead and told him to say goodbye to you," He tells me

"To think you're a fucking father sickness me, maybe that's why Jaelene is so messed up cause she's got you as a dad," I say scowling at him

"Don't you talk about my daughter like that," He says punching me in the face again causing a groan to escape my lips and blood to start pooling in my mouth

"everyone will know what you did Christopher, they'll know you killed my father, I can promise you that" I reply not backing down from looking him in the eyes

"Sorry to cut this one short but I've got a graduation to get to, I've got this whole speech talking about the Morgan sisters and how missed they are, maybe I'll say hello to some of your friends," He tells me with a smirk on his face before walking out of the room.

If I wasn't strapped down to a chair right now I would beat the living daylights out of his smug face before he could say another word. I get dragged back to my 'room' again, the same routine for however long we've been here for, I think it's been my birthday but I'm not too sure.

Alex is there like usual having had her interrogation for the day as well and she comes straight over to me.

"Jesus Dan, it's bad today, what the hell did they do to you?" She asks concerned as she looks over my face and body

"The main man himself decided to have a go today but he had brass knuckles on so everything hurts like ten times more than normal," I say trying not to move too much as I know my ribs are out of place.

"I'm going to kill that son of a bitch as soon as I get a chance," Alex says taking off my shirt to have a better look

"I know my ribs are fucked Alex so you're going to have to put them back into place for me," I tell Alex who seems very reluctant to do so

"I've never done this before Dan, what if I mess up and make it worse by like puncturing your lung or something!" She says getting a little panicked

"You're fine Alex trust me, remember when I did it to Emelia on my first week here, just do the same thing," I tell her confidently

"Easy" She replies sarcastically but puts her hands into position.

I take my discarded t-shirt and place it in my mouth biting down hard because I know this is going to hurt a lot and I really don't want a guard coming in to beat me up even more.

I silently nod my head at Alex who takes a deep breath along with myself and pushes down hard, successful replacing my ribs

"I forgot how badly they hurt," I say letting out deep breaths as I try to compose myself.

"Did Christopher say anything to you today? I didn't get told much just that it was graduation day for Ash, Ali, Hope, Carli and Becky," Alex tells me

"He said the same thing to me and that he has a speech planned out to talk about us and how the whole town misses us dearly," I say and hear her let out a sigh

"H-he also told me that he did it," I say finally getting to think about it all

"he did what? Kidnap us?" Alex asks me confused

"No he did it, Alex, he was the one to kill my father, put a bullet right through his head," I say to her, I can feel her breath hitch at that.

"I'm really missing moms hugs you know," I tell Alex sadly and feel her pull me closer into her chest.

"Me too Dan, I'm even missing Em running around the house screaming her head off when she's eaten too much sugar," She tells me making us both laugh

"Or when we would catch her and Jack in bed together and we'd kick him out the house," I say smiling at the memory

"She got so annoyed when we did that" Alex replies

"How long do you think he'll keep us here, eventually he's going to give up and realise that we don't know where this pen drive is. It's not like he's going to let us go, the whole world thinks we're dead." Alex asks me and I know it's been on both of our minds for a while now

"I wish I knew Alex, I just hope that wherever the pen drive is, it's hidden and somewhere he can't get his hands on," I tell her

"Maybe if we get out of here we could find it all and publish your dads work, in his memory," Alex says to me and I smile at the idea

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea," I tell her happily and squeeze her a little tighter

I'm glad Alex is still feeling optimistic about the situation, its when you start to give up and the cracks start to show, that's when they can really get in your head and destroy from the inside and out.

I've had to deal with beating for years from Mick so I'm pretty used to what follows but Alex hasn't, this is all new to her and I'm worried for her mental health.

But maybe if we do get out of here I could find his research and tell the world all about his amazing discovery. Let everyone know him to be the great man I knew him to be myself.

"Can you hear that?" Alex questions standing up slowly and listening closely to the door

"There's no sound Lex," I say confused as to what the hell she's talking about, maybe she's gone a little crazier quicker than I expected.

I painfully stand up and get closer to where Alex is, hoping I can maybe hear what she can. Just as I'm about to say she's going delusional I hear a pop go off in the distance, I've heard that enough times to know exactly what it is

"w-was that a, " Alex stutters out

"a gunshot, yeah it was," I tell the girl.

The sounds seem to be getting closer and closer and I tell Alex to step back and hide herself hind the doorframe, getting ready to put our self-defence lessons into practice and attack whatever comes in.

The door suddenly flies open and Alex and I grab an arm of the person and fling them to the ground, quickly applying pressure on their shoulder blades so they can't move. I look down at the guy we're holding and notice his jacket having FBI written on it

"Oh shit," I say and quickly get off him along with Alex. He stands up himself and draws his gun at us

"Don't shoot! We're being held captive here!" I say praying to god he doesn't pull the trigger

"Wait, you're the two girls that died in the car crash last month right?" He asks us like we're supposed to know anything

"We're clearly not dead otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation would we," I say to the agent, obviously for an FBI agent he's pretty stupid

"Boss I've got the Morgan siblings with me currently" the guy says into some ear piece

"Right away sir," He says "the boss wants to see you right away"

We follow behind the guy as he leads us out of our room and through multiple hallways, this is the first time we're getting a chance to look at the whole place and not just the interrogation room and our own. We're lead towards a guy whos dressed in a suit while wearing a bullet proof vest

"I have to say I wasn't expecting to see you two, I'm Travis Finch, a friend of your fathers Dan," The guy tells me offering his hand out for me to shake

"Nice to meet you sir, if you're not here for us why are you?" I ask finding this whole situation to be pretty confusing

"Your girlfriend located a flash drive with mountains of data on Christopher Hinkle that your father had collected over time, we went through it all and were able to locate this place as being is base of operations. We didn't know that you guys were alive if I'm being honest" He says as Alex and I look at each other in shock

"As in Kelley, my girlfriend Kelley?" I say trying to check if I've heard the guy right

"That's the one, I wouldn't want to get on her bad side she can be pretty scary you know," He says and I'm convinced we're not talking about the same person here.

"Does that mean everyone back home still believes we're dead?" Alex asks

"I suppose so we're about to head to your school and arrest the guy" Travis tells us getting me all excited

"Please can we come too, I've been dreaming of this day for over 4 years now," I tell the guy hoping he lets us tag along

"Do you not want to go to a hospital first, you look pretty banged up?" He says and I just wave him off

"Are you kidding me! Get me to that school now, I need to see that asshole in cuffs" I say with a smirk on my face.

"Alright then, you two can ride with me," He tells Alex and I.

We climb into his truck and look at each other with a shocked expression, I don't think either one of us is actually wrapping our heads around the fact that this is happening, over a year of investigating and spending countless hours trying to put all the pieces together, he's finally getting what he deserved.

Travis pulls up to the school and we stay behind him and a large group of his men as we storm on to the field where the graduation is taking place. We have to stay hidden in case Hinkle has any men lurking around with weapons

"Christopher Hinkle! put your hands in the air where I can see them!" Travis shouts towards the stage his gun aiming right at the man

"What the hell is this all about!" He shouts angrily like he's done nothing wrong.

"you're under arrest for the murder of Darren Parker, the conspiracy of murder, kidnapping and possession of drugs. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be held against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney if you can not afford an attorney, one will be provided for you" Travis lists off, reading him his rights like he should have any anyway.

"This is ridiculous! Do you know who you're talking to right now!" Hinkle says trying to fidget out of his restraints.

"Don't bother Christopher, we caught you red have and you know what's the funniest part about it all, they did it all for me" Travis says and takes a step to the side letting Alex and I step forward as the crowd gasps seeing the pair of us

"Bet you didn't see that one coming did you," I say with the smuggest look on my face reiterating the lines he told me the day of the National final

"Have a nice time in prison" Alex shouts waving at the guys as he's dragged off the stage

I've got a huge smirk on my face as I look around, the day I finally got to arrest the person responsibly for my dads death and causing me so much pain is here and I got to watch it all unfold.

I'm looking around the crowd when my eyes land on Kelley's and my face softens when I see her freckles for the first time in what feels like forever.

Me looking at Kelley seemed to snap her out of her daze and she's out of her seat and running straight towards me, I make sure to catch her in my arms no matter how much pain I'm currently feeling and hold onto her for dear life.

"Y-you're here, you are real right?" Kelley asks as she cries in my arms

"I'm real Kelley I promise," I say crying myself now realising how much I've missed her

"your face" She gasps out running her fingers over the many cuts and bruises

"It's okay, they probably look worse than they are," I say

"Ho- who -we have- I don't-" Kelley splutters out not being able to form a sentence

"I know freckles, I'll explain it all later but right now I just want to hold my girlfriend," I say and put her to the floor so it doesn't hurt as much.

Soon enough we're bombarded by other people all hugging us tightly, I can tell Tobin is hugging me from behind because she smells exactly like Christen with a mix of herself too.

"I don't know how the fuck you are here but I am so glad you are" She says hugging me even tighter

I look up and see my sister hugging her boyfriend tightly, both of them crying like most people here are right now. I'm just glad everyone here is okay and safe, I was worried Hinkle would go after them next too.

"Enough of the crying guys, we've got a graduation to get on with," I say laughing slightly as I wipe away my tears

Alex chooses to sit down next to Serv and Kelley while I head up to the front of the podium and stand behind the microphone.

"Since Mr Hinkle was supposed to do this and he's not been arrested I'll take over" I say into the mic as all my friends cheer loudly for me. I start doing the speeches for everyone, reading off the notes that are written down and saying some extra things if I know the person well enough. The next on my list is Ashlyn

"Ashlyn Michelle Harris, graduating to the University of North Carolina to play soccer, a shocker I know, and study sports medicine. I know you'll kill it sharky just don't forget about us when you get famous" I say to Ash who runs on the stage and engulfs me into a hug getting plenty of 'aws' from people watching

"Love you ashy," I tell her and let her walk off the stage, the next member of my team on the list is Ali

"Alexandra Blaire Krieger, graduating to Pennsylvania State University to play soccer and study advertising and public relations. Good luck Kriegs, we can't wait to watch you break Penn State records and score a penalty on your girlfriend" I say to Ali as she comes on stage to hug me as well and collect her certificate. Becky is the next team member

"Rebecca Elizabeth Sauerbrunn, graduating to the University of Virginia to play soccer, another surprise I know, Becky will be studying Law and schooling all our butts! I hope your new team have a thick skin and can handle the broon" I say getting a laugh from everyone as my old captain comes up to get her award

"I'm glad your alive Dan, life wasn't the same with you gone" She whispers in my ear as she walks off the stage

"Hope Amelia Solo, graduating to attend the University of Washington to play hockey, no I'm just kidding she's going to play soccer and to study sports science. We love you Hopey, try not to give too many people your death glare" I tell her as she comes on stage to hug me as well

After I've finished off reading every single graduate of the 07 class there's still one person left to go.

"As you can all tell, there's still one more person left to come up and collect their certificate. This person is a little different from the rest of you because she's graduating top of her class and with a full ride to the University of New Jersey to play soccer and study Exercise Science and Sports Studies. Please welcome onto the stage your soccer captains and class of 07 valedictorian, Carli Ann Lloyd!" I say as the legend herself climbs up the steps to get to me.

I hug her tightly and let her take the stand behind the microphone

"Thank you Dan and I think I speak for everyone here when I say that however you and Alex are alive right now we're all incredibly grateful. The past month of our high school life had been pretty depressing and it made us all hold on a little tighter to our loved ones and appreciate the short amount of time we have on this earth to leave mark behind. So to the class of 07, live every day like it's your last and don't hold back on reaching for your dreams" Carli says before all of the graduates stand up and throw their hats into the air

The team seem to have other ideas as they all run onto the stage and engulf me in a hug again, everyone passing between Alex and I saying how happy they are that we're alive and that we also need to explain a few things.

"We really want to explain everything to you guys, and we will very soon, but right now we need to go see our mom and sister," Alex tells everyone

"Of course, you guys go, we'll meet you later somewhere," Kelley says kissing me on the lips and I could stay there forever if Alex didn't pull me away

"Can I take the pair of you to the hospital now?" Travis asks us

"One more stop Trav," I say patting his shoulder and climbing back into his car

He drives us back to our home and I hold on onto Alex's hand tightly, for some reason I'm feeling a little scared to see them both which is weird because they're all I've thought about for the past month.

Travis waits in the car for us as Alex and walk up to the front door and knock. We hear someone come closer and next thing you know we're staring at our mom.

"Hey mom," I say barely above a whisper as she drops what's she's holding in her hand to the floor

"Mom! Are you okay?" Em asks rushing around the corner to see us too

"Are you going to hug us or not?" Alex asks crying now.

That's all it takes for both mom and Em to hug us tightly and we're all crying mess in the middle of the hallway, nobody wanting to let go of anyone.

I spent every day after my dad died trying to find the man who did it and I never had a plan for what I was going to do when I did because I guess a part of me thought I never would.

Yet here I am standing with the people I love dearest finally closing a chapter of my life off and getting ready to explore a new one.

So to Christopher Hinkle, the man that made my life a living hell.

Thank you, even though you destroyed me, it lead me to the people that were able to build me back up again.


	47. I love you too freckles

The seniors all graduated that year and summer rolled around and to say things around town where crazy was an understatement. Apparently when you're presumed dead for a month and then suddenly appear out of nowhere the whole world and its wife wants to speak with you.

Alex and I's names were over news channels across the world, everyone telling the story of how we solved the murders of countless peoples and put a billionaire behind bars.

Everything that Christopher Hinkle did was revealed, including his part in the assassination of Darren Parker 4 years ago, and he officially became the most hated man in America.

The years of data my dad collect on him was unmissable in court and the feds said without that he would have been a free man.

We explained to our friends and family everything from the very beginning, how Alex and I had started investigating my dad's murder, Em wasn't happy that didn't her help since she's living with us too but we had to explain the dangers of it all.

We told them about finding out the factory was actually his drug-making facility, and all about the code name CH actually stood for multiple things. By the end of it, everyone was in total shock which was expected when you're told two 17 year-olds were solving a murder without anybody knowing.

Kelley showed me the box my father left for when I turned 18 and I watched the video too. I'd be lying if I said I didn't cry my eyes out at it but it held to give me some closure in everything that happens to him.

She tried to give me back the necklace but I gave it back to her, it was what my mom always wore on her neck since dad gave it to her so I wanted Kelley to have it. Something special for us to keep in the family

Alex and I were awarded the FBI medals of Valor which are 'presented in recognition of an exceptional act of heroism or voluntary risk of personal safety and life'.

We had a little ceremony with a few close family and friends where Trevor was the one to give us the medals.

Summer progressed and life in our small little town slowly got back on track, life started to become normal again.

Alex and I went to a lot of therapy after our whole ordeal, I had multiple surgeries on my leg to fix the damage the car crash had done to it and everything Hinkle did while we were in captivity while Alex got a lot of psychiatric help. Sometimes we went in together but most of the time it was alone. 

It was a struggle to move on but family and friends where there to support us along the way and I didn't feel the need to push them away and handle things by myself, something I would have done a little as 6 months ago, it made me realise how important it is asking for help when you need it.

We spent as much time as we could with everyone, wanting to make this the best summer of our lives and we did just that. We played in the garden for hours on end, it didn't matter what it was we found some way to make it into a competition. We had to show our seniors what they'd be missing when they left

Alex and I were key witnesses in putting Christopher Hinkle away and we spent a long time going to court and giving our statements, eventually, all the trauma was worth it because he got life without patrol.

Jaelene and her mother moved across the seas to Australia in hopes to get away from the backlash they were facing. I would feel sorry for her if it was anybody else but this girl made me swallow drugs and stabbed my girlfriend in the locker room so for all I'm concerned she can join her dad behind bars.

After school started back up in September is was quite a few of our last years. I was still the captain of both my teams but I had to sit out the first few months since I was doing rehab for my leg and all the bones that had been broken and healed wrong inside me.

I took that time to finish off my Criminology degree and managed to get that in the middle of my senior year.

When I did play sports again it felt like I had never left, the soccer team went on to win Nationals for the second time in a row and so did the football boys. I apparently broke some state records and my names now in the history books which is pretty cool.

Since Jaelene is no longer a resident at our school I somehow claimed the title of most popular person and both my teams finally got the recognition they deserved, Freshman coming in knowing that if you were on the soccer or football team you were classed as 'cool'. They also knew I had a no-bullying rule which helped to keep the school and enjoyable place

Alex and Serv won prom king and queen at homecoming which was well deserved since they soon became the school's favourite couple and they're both heading off to Berkley together in September, a little like Kelley and I.

The end of the year comes, too quickly for my liking, and I graduate high school with a 4.0 GPA along with Kelley who was the class of 08's valedictorian.

It was amazing seeing Kelley grow throughout the year, according to Alex she was back to being the bubbly and silly person she was before I arrived into town and I got to fall I love with her all over again.

I published all of my father's findings on the revolutionary drug and it was named the greatest discovery in medicine since the last century which is pretty amazing. I know dad would have been proud to help all the people he did, the people who are in moms condition especially.

And since I'm the only Parker left on the planet by blood, I inherit all of his fortunes he's getting from this drug, which is a lot, way too much for an 18 year old to have so I give most of it away to charity and into my high school now Hinkle isn't there to supply it with money.

Kelley and I are still going to Stanford while Alex is heading off to Berkley, it was a hard thing for both of us decide since having gone through that awful experience together we were very close. But we can't live in the past anymore and going to separate schools will help us both move on.

It was hard for Mom to let us go to College, ever since we got back home she didn't leave our sight and the thought about us both being across the country from her was difficult but she knew she couldn't keep us forever and at some point needed to let us go.

Currently, Kelley and I are unpacking all of our stuff into our new dorm room at Stanford. I got us the best one the school could offer much to her dismay but if we're staying here for 4 years I want it to be nice.

I flatten down the last empty box and collapse onto our new bed already exhausted from a the travelling and moving we've done today. Kelley soon joins me and cuddles into my side

"to think that almost 2 years ago, I was the new rebellious girl, shutting people out, biker chick with tattoos, rocking up to my third school if the year. Yet here I am now with the girl of my dreams playing the sport I love at a school my mother went to" I say kissing Kelley on the cheek

"when you out it like that, it's been a pretty crazy ride," She says letting out a small chuckle

"do you remember when you first walked into maths class and sat down next to me?" Kelley asks with a small smile on her face, grinning up at me

"of course I do, I sat down next to you because you looked like the only normal one in the class" I reply with a smirk on my face

"Well keep that in mind because I have a little present to celebrate the milestone we've reached in our life and relationship" She says walking over to her suitcase and pulling out a small box

She hands it to me and I open it intrigues as to what it could be. I take the lid off and pull out a silver pen with the words 'always your freckles' engraved down the side

"I love it babe," I say smiling at it, remembering our first interaction together

"now I don't have an excuse to ask you for a one in class," I say putting it behind me ear as I lean in to kiss her

"I love you," She tells me, a small blush creeping up on her face

"I love you too freckles" I reply, ready to start my future with this girl.


End file.
